‘New phenomenon’ – Is one crime syndicate behind tavern shootings in SA?

It has been a bloody month with 35 people being killed in tavern-related violence so far.

A shooting spree claimed two more lives over the weekend.

Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello confirmed two people had been fatally shot and seven wounded at about 11pm last Friday in Ga-Rankuwa.

Sello said unknown suspects driving a silver VW Polo had reportedly fired shots randomly at patrons sitting outside a tavern.

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“The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage. Police will be investigating two cases of murder and seven of attempted murder,” she said.

Police said yesterday one suspect had been arrested in connection with the shooting at the Mputlane Inn tavern in Katlehong on 8 July, when two people were killed and eight wounded.

The City of Ekurhuleni confirmed on Sunday the suspect is an employee of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.

“The suspect is expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Police investigation continues regarding this matter,” she said.

In incidents earlier this month, 16 people were killed and seven injured in Soweto, while four were killed and eight wounded in Pietermaritzburg.

Then, five people were shot dead in two separate incidents in Thembelihle informal settlement and six others died in an armed robbery in Alexandra.

Last week, police spokesperson Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed four suspects had been arrested in connection with the Samkelisiwe Tavern shooting in Pietermaritzburg.

Crezane Bosch, Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson for community safety, said: “It has become clear these shootings are not necessarily related to each other.

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“The DA suspects that … a number are gang related, where gangs are trying to extort money from tavern owners as part of a protection racket,” she said.

Security expert Dr Johan Burger said it was uncertain whether there was any connection between these incidents, “however, this type of shooting seems to be indicative of a new phenomenon.”

Burger said intelligence structures were currently deficient in terms of their capabilities.

“One would hope police would investigate any connection between these incidents to determine whether they were committed by the same syndicate or other criminal organisations.”

Burger warned there was also the possibility of copycat groups because “criminals see the gaps, have plenty of weapons and don’t fear being caught..”

Professor Jaco Barkhuizen, head of the department of criminology at the University of Limpopo, said after the first bloody weekend, one would have expected visible policing in tavern areas.

“Not only would it prevent mass shootings but also intoxicated drivers,” he said.

He questioned why police hadn’t put together a task force.

“Where is police intelligence?” he asked.

“We still don’t know the motives behind these shootings. Why aren’t the police keeping people safe? It seems there is no crime intelligence at the moment.”

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