Stellenbosch police have launched a probe into yet another shooting of a Stellenbosch municipal official in Khayamandi.
According to police spokesperson Captain Nathalie Martin, the incident occurred in broad daylight in Sitona Street on Monday (18 August).
“At 15:15, a 57-year-old man was shot in front of his house by an unknown suspect,” she said. “The victim was transported to hospital by private vehicle.”
Martin confirmed a case of attempted murder has been opened and the motive for the shooting is under investigation. “No arrests have been made,” she said.
The incident is just one of a spate of shootings that has plagued the township this month. To date, five people have been fatally gunned down since the start of August.
The most recent victim is the fourth municipal official to be targeted in the Khayamandi in recent years.
In early June former Stellenbosch deputy mayor, Nyaniso Jindela, was fatally shot in Vineyard Street. His killing came merely weeks after a shooting incident that claimed the life of DA councillor Xolile Kalipa in the same community on the evening of Sunday 14 May.
In mid-2021, Jindela, his wife, Unathi, and three others were arrested for the murder of Cameron Mcako, another former deputy mayor of Stellenbosch.
Mcako was gunned down outside his tavern, Happy Rest Tavern, on 1 November 2019. He died in hospital two days later.
Stellenbosch Municipality condemned this week’s “senseless shooting” of its off-duty staff member. “The municipality is providing support at the scene and assisting authorities in every way possible to ensure the perpetrator is brought to book,” it said in a statement.
Last week, Eikestadnuus reported on the bloodshed in Khayamandi since the start of the month, with local safety structures expressing their concerns and resident claiming they fear for their lives. (“Khayamandi residents living in fear,” 14 August).
Members of the local community policing forum (CPF) said the ongoing shootings are of serious concern. “This requires the community to unite against fighting crime,” a CPF member told Eikestadnuus.
The forum said responsibility for addressing the violence in Khayamandi should not only fall on the police. “We should look at the root causes of crime, which are mainly poverty and unemployment. Stellenbosch Municipality should assist in creating job opportunities through its jobs fund.”
Locals say reinforcement alone will not work because ridding the community of these crimes needs an integrated approach. “It requires all stakeholders in the community as well as government to work together,” the CPF stated.
“Residents currently live in fear. People do not want to talk as they fear they may become victims of crime. We need to have a round-table discussion with government departments as well as the municipality. We need continuous unannounced stop-and-search operations.”
The CPF believes different strategies and visible law enforcement around schools are needed.
In an effort to have more stakeholder engagement on violent crime in the greater Stellenbosch area, mayor Jeremy Fasser and Mayoral Committee member for Protection Services Stephanie Heneke recently hosted a high-level safety and security engagement.
The meeting brought safety and security stakeholders together, including the newly-appointed Cape Winelands District police commissioner General Miriam Mochologi, provincial minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Anroux Marais, local police leadership as well as the Municipal Protection Services.
According to the municipality regular joint operations, intelligence sharing, patrol assistance and access to the municipal CCTV network as well a 24-hour control room were all part of the municipality’s contribution to help bolster local law enforcement.
Anyone with information on the attempted murder or any of the other cases is asked to call Stellenbosch police on 021 809 5012 or 021 809 5015.
