Family ‘disputes’ likely led to killing of 18 in Lusikisiki – expert

Police crime intelligence is not to blame for not predicting the massacre of 18 family members in the Ngobozana village of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, says an expert.

While stressing the importance of police stepping up an intelligence-driven strategy to address crime in South Africa, a criminologist yesterday said the killings could have been fuelled by the proliferation of illegal firearms, family and group feuding.

Police minister visits Lusikisiki

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, his deputy, Cassel Mathale, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, and Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, met the bereaved families.

In what Mabuyane described as “a barbaric destruction of a family, resembling a war”, killers over the weekend targeted two homesteads – mowing down 18 in the Eastern Cape’s remote town – triggering a manhunt.

In an address to the local community, Mchunu said the stench of blood still hung heavy at the crime scene “where the defenceless were killed, with the majority being women”.

“The killers were patient enough to ensure all were killed.

“Among ourselves, we refer to them as people, but they are not people. They come from among ourselves,” said Mchunu.

Stellenbosch University criminologist Dr Guy Lamb said: “These situations are often difficult for police to deal with through Crime Intelligence, because they are about family or group disputes.

“Intelligence is more attuned to dealing with trans-national crimes or criminal groups in urban areas.”

Lamb said access to firearms and “family conflicts” lead to violence.

“It is not just individuals who are targeted in these attacks, but families and relatives.

“Sometimes it has to do with disputes over access to land.

“Killings have been an ongoing problem for decades, especially in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal’s midlands,” said Lamb.

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Lusikisiki shooting may have been the result of a feud

On disputes witnessed in rural areas, Lamb said: “Tensions build over time and individuals are armed or hired to attack and kill other groups.

“A lot of it has to do with extended family and ethnic connected feuds. “Although investigations are ongoing in Lusikisiki, we believe that is what most likely happened in this Eastern Cape incident,” Lamb said.

“A large family has been targeted multiple times in Lusikisiki – most likely to do with a feud.

“Sometimes these feuds happen in urban centres – as seen in KwaZulu-Natal, where community tensions are heightened.

“Sometimes these begin in the urban areas of Johannesburg and later play out in rural settings.

“SA has a very serious problem with the availability of firearms, with most violent crimes being committed by illegal firearms – with there being access to ammunition through illegal mechanisms,” Lamb said.

READ MORE: Lusikisiki mass shooting death toll rises as hunt for suspects continue [VIDEO]

Police minister promises more officers , Ramaphosa extends condolences

Mchunu said Saps would deploy more officers, vans and specialist policemen to the area.

Extending condolences to survivors, President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the families the police had mobilised “maximum resources to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book”.

He said a team of specialist detectives and forensic science experts, have been deployed to the crime scene to assist with the investigation.

DA police spokesperson Ian Cameron called on law enforcement agencies to establish a multidisciplinary team “to effectively deal with this investigation, – with close cooperation between the Saps, the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority – ensuring that these criminals are tracked down, arrested and prosecuted with vigour”.