Police Minister Bheki Cele. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
Additional resources will be allocated to the investigative team handling the case of Ditebogo Junior Phalane’s murder, Police Minister Bheki Cele has confirmed.
Cele visited Soshanguve, located in the north Pretoria, on Tuesday after Phalane was fatally shot last week.
The five-year-old boy reportedly ran outside his home to welcome his father, who had returned from running his errands around 10:30pm on Friday.
He was shot as the suspects hijacked his father and was declared dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.
The South African Police Service (Saps) has since launched a manhunt for the suspects behind the incident.
Cele told reporters he could not fathom why the suspects would shoot a child.
“I wonder if the day we find them they will be able to explain why they did it. I really wonder if they understand what they have done,” he said on Tuesday.
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The minister indicated that “extra resources” have been made available to the investigating team.
He said the team of detectives will rely on technology and work with other agencies to find the perpetrators.
“We are trying to amass every other kind of capabilities,” Cele continued.
Cele also addressed the police officers set to be deployed in Soshanguve and surrounding areas to combat violent crime.
“You will be everywhere, you will saturate every place. We are taking over here. If you don’t like us doing that, then goodbye. You can turn your back and walk away. We are here to stay.”
The minister assured the community that government has heard their grievances.
“It has been too long. You have cried too much, you have been harassed, you have been terrorized by sometimes very young boys and indeed we are here to give you resources.
“To the police, in the next 24 to 48 hours, this community must sleep properly. [They] must sleep with their doors open. You must make a difference. It cannot happen that after you have been here, there is no change after that.”
Cele later said to the media that the police’s tactical response team (TRT) unit, famously known as “Amaberete,” would be deployed to the crime-ridden township.
He said increased police visibility was required.
“We will be bringing the national intervention unit.”
The minister said the special task force team will be on the ground “if we feel there is any form of resistance”.
“The police here are instructed to take over and saturate the streets. You have seen the cars that are here, there will be more than 60 cars to work here semi-permanently.
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“Maybe before we withdraw those, we will have to come back and listen to the communities how far they have felt the presence of the police. We don’t want them to be told that there are police, we want them to feel the change that has happened.”
He said government had to respond decisively.
“As a government we cannot just keep quiet.”
Furthermore, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the progress of the policing interventions would be evaluated on a weekly basis.
“We will adjust where it’s necessary, but we think we have the right team. They will definitely make a difference to the lives of the community here.”
Meanwhile, Tshenolo Private Investigations has offered a R10 000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest of Phalane’s killers.
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