/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, has learnt with despair the killing of five family members in Bityi Village near Mthatha in the OR Tambo District where mass murders have become a trend in the recent months.

According to media reports the incident took place on Friday. Mr Cameron said: “There seems to be a worrying increase in mass murders in South Africa, something that is unacceptable and against the common vision and objective of the creation of safe and secure country. There must be a concerted effort between the police and the community in order to stop this worrying trend,” said Mr Cameron.

He said the lack of effective investigations of criminal cases and prosecutions of the alleged criminals contribute to the rising criminality in South Africa. Furthermore, he said without proper investigation and prosecution that are carried out in an accelerated pace and lead to arrest at the end, all forms of criminality will inadvertently rise and get out of hand.

He called for the urgency of sound capacitation and strengthening of detective and crime intelligence units in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to stop this mass killings. He said what is even more worrying is the trend of mass murders in the villages.

“These communities that are depicted as mass murder hotspots by the recent crime statistics, were havens and citadels of peace and harmony historically and conservatively intolerant to all forms of crime. We are calling on SAPS to invigorate collaboration with traditional leaders and community policing forums to push back the frontiers of crime in rural communities particularly in the villages where it has reached unimaginable proportions,” Mr Cameron said.

The proliferation of illegal firearms that are mostly used by the perpetrators of these heinous crimes call for the intensification of effective multiplicity of crime fighting strategies and to disarm criminals of those firearms. “We must do whatever is necessary to turn the tide of murders in the country,” Mr Cameron concluded.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron