Alexandra murders: Police arrest eighth suspect

Police Minister Bheki Cele visited Alexandra on Sunday.

Police conduct an operation in Alexandra, 15 July 2022, following a series of shootings which left several people dead and eight injured. Picture: Michel Bega

Eight suspects have now been arrested in connection to the shootings that took place in Alexandra last week.

Police Minister Bheki Cele visited the township in Johannesburg on Sunday for a crime imbizo after several people were shot dead – including Alex FM producer Joshua Mbatha – and many more wounded.

During the imbizo, Cele, who was accompanied by national police commissioner Fannie Masemola and Gauteng police commissioner Elias Mawela, said a special team would be appointed to “to be able to crack all the crimes here and arrest all the criminals”.

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While seven suspects were initially arrested for the shootings, the number has since increased to eight, Mawela confirmed on Sunday.

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The suspects – aged between 23 and 33 – were found with firearms, cellphones and ammunition when they were arrested.

[WATCH] This #Alexandra resident tells the #AlexandraImbizo that the @SAPoliceService management must look into the well-being of members of the #Alexandra SAPS as one of the steps to tackle the crime problem in the area. pic.twitter.com/mxlYNMTCOY
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) July 17, 2022

Cele also took part in another crime imbizo in Cape Town on Monday following a deadly weekend of violence.

Five men were gunned down in two separate shooting incidents on Saturday night.

In Khayelitsha, three men – aged 34, 36 and 50 – were shot by unknown suspects who fled the scene, while in Makhaza, another two men – both in their 30s – were shot and killed.

Meanwhile, police also confirmed four people were killed in the Thembelihle informal settlement, Lenasia, on Saturday evening.

Mawela said it was “another horrific crime scene”. From preliminary investigations, the victims were shot dead while sitting around a fire.

Enyobeni tavern

Last week, the owner of the Enyobeni tavern in Scenery Park, East London, where 21 teenagers died in June, was arrested along with two employees.

The arrest of the 52-year-old suspect and two employees followed a criminal complaint laid by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB) at Scenery Park Police Station for contravention of the Liquor Act.

The ECLB laid the criminal complaint against the tavern owner for allegedly selling alcohol to minors.

The two tavern employees were each fined R2,000, while a summons was served to the owner for his immediate arrest and appearance in court on 19 August 2022.

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