MERELY hours before the arrest of a second man for the murder of two Glebelands Hostel residents in Montclair, the murder of another pair shook the hostel community.
On Sunday, 4 October, police arrested a man for the Saturday, 12 September murder of William Mthembu and Thokozani Machi from Glebelands Hostel. This, a week after the first alleged killer was arrested.
Only hours earlier, on Saturday, 3 October Bongani Hlophe and Bandile Ngcobo were killed in block 52. Less than a week before that eThekwini municipality’s executive committee submitted a report on actions taken at the hostel to reduce the number of killings. More police were deployed to the area and security systems were introduced.
KZN MEC for transport, community safety and liaison, Willies Mchunu conveyed his disappointment at the continued incidents at the hostel.
“We must all work together to find mechanisms to address the situation at Glebelands Hostel. The ongoing killing of residents is totally appalling and must now come to an end.
As the government we are applying a multi-prong strategy to address the situation. This includes deploying various units within law enforcement agencies, facilitating dialogue and improving safety and security measures at the hostel,” said Mchunu.
He added that the modus operandi of the latest killings were similar to previous murders and indicated that all the people involved seemed to know one another.
“Police have done their work and suspects have been arrested in various cases. The community of Glebelands must denounce violence and unite to isolate criminals and perpetrators of violence. We urge all the people of KZN to rise and work together in defeating crime. The fact that KZN remains a murder capital is clear evidence that we have many criminals among our communities and many illegal weapons.”
