Cele visits Westbury amid gang violence but residents angry he didn’t speak to them

The Police Ministry said police minister Bheki Cele will be outlining plans to make sure the “guns are silenced” in Westbury.

The ministry said while Cele did not meet with angry Westbury residents over the gang violence, he did meet with community leaders to get an understanding of the problems that still exist in the area.

Cele and police top brass, including acting national commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili and provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela, visited the Sophiatown Police Station on Thursday.

Westbury visit

Their visit followed an escalation of gang and drug related shootings in the Westbury and Newclare areas, following the murder of notorious Fast Guns gang boss Keenen Ebrahim.

The 38-year-old was gunned down in an apparent hit in the west of Johannesburg last week.

In the past week, at least 13 people were shot in different incidents in Westbury and residents wanted Cele to meet with residents to address the recent eruption of gang violence.

Residents who gathered at the Sophiatown police station were unimpressed that Cele was not addressing them.

Speaking to The Citizen, Police Ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said it was clear why Cele went to the Sophiatown police precinct on Thursday.

“It was to get an assessment from the Saps around the operation response to the violence and also just to find a more sustainable plan and a sustainable solution to gang violence in that area.

“The plan was never to go and interact with community members, in his visit to the Sophiatown Police Station he did interact with community leaders, and this was where he was able to get an understanding of the problems that still exit in that area,” Themba said.

ALSO READ: Gangsters as young as 9 turn Westbury into warzone

2018 interventions

Themba added that Cele did visit Westbury in October 2018, where interventions were put in place.

“The meeting that he had yesterday, with the Saps, was to find out what had been done to date to make sure that the community is safer and the guns are silent.”

“But, with that said, the minister of police made a commitment yesterday that he’s going to return to the area and he’s going to interact with residents. So, it’s a bit premature for Westbury residents to say that he did not interact with them when this was never part of the plan,” Themba said.

Gun silence

Themba said Cele’s real commitment is community engagement.

“There will be an outlining of what resources and also what pronged multi-government interventions that are going to be put in place to make sure that the guns are silenced,” Themba added.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Notorious Fast Guns gang leader killed in apparent hit