Cele wants clampdown on illegal booze after Khayelitsha mass shooting

Police Minister Bheki Cele has blamed illegal bars and liquor shops for causing violent crimes.

This emerged during a visit to Khayelitsha’s Site B on Tuesday after seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a house understood to be selling liquor without a licence.

Sunday’s tragedy also left seven people injured, including a 6-year-old.

Cele condemned the “heinous crime”, which occurred during the Western Cape’s Operation Lockdown, an intervention to stabilise crime in the province. He said illegal bars and alcohol shops should shut down because they are often the common denominator in crime and murder.

Operation Lockdown allowed police to seize guns and drugs.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested in connection with Sunday’s shooting, and Cele expected more arrests.

“Minister Cele has subsequently urged the multi-disciplinary investigating team to work around the clock and ensure that all suspects are apprehended given the preliminary evidence suggesting that there was more than one suspect,” acting national SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said.

Meanwhile, police management did not appear before the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs in parliament on Tuesday as expected, where Cape Town’s refugee sit-in was discussed.

The reason given was that they had to attend the Khayelitsha shooting site.

The City of Cape Town is seeking clarity on whether the police should be more involved in the refugee situation after being told by officers that they are not sure they can arrest the group.

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