South Africa: Police Increase Presence in Gugulethu After Two Officers Slain in Weekend of Bloodshed

@SAPoliceService / Twitter
The late Lindela Mraqisa, warrant officer, who had served as a close protector to Police Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale since 2019.
3 October 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Vincent Cruywagen

Following the killings of two off-duty police officers in Gugulethu, Cape Town, over the weekend, the SAPS has deployed more officers in the area.

The most recent mass killing in Gugulethu, in which Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa was killed on the night of Saturday, 30 September, was the final straw for the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The police have now set up roadblocks at the township's entrances and exits to stabilise the area, halt murders and eliminate extortionists, kidnappers, criminal syndicates and gang kingpins.

This was the message from Police Minister Bheki Cele on Tuesday during a press briefing on crime in the Western Cape and the police's Operation Shanela in Cape Town.

Cele said Operation Shanela was "a success-driven decisive policing approach in communities impacted by high levels of crime". He said that since the adoption of this strategy in May, the SAPS had mobilised resources to ensure heightened police visibility.

Cele was joined on Tuesday by National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile.

Police set up roadblocks in Gugulethu on Monday night after Mraqisa was murdered in a shooting that claimed four other lives. In another incident, Constable Asavela Mathe was killed on Sunday in Mfuleni. Police are looking for three suspects in connection with the murder of Mraqisa.

While Cele was addressing the...

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