Soweto tavern killings: ‘Amabherethe’ tactical response team to be deployed – Cele

Police Commissioner Bheki Cele visited Soweto on Monday, following the shooting at a tavern in Soweto which claimed 15 lives.

The shooting took place at the Mdlalose tavern in the Nomzamo informal settlement in Orlando East in the early hours of Sunday.

Soweto tavern killings update

Cele’s media briefing

Cele said ‘Amabherethe’ – the Police’s infamous Tactical Response Team – will be deployed on Monday to assist local members of the SA Police Service.

At the time of publishing, police said they were looking for five suspects, not two. Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela said in a statement on Sunday:

“Twenty-three people were shot, 12 of whom were declared dead on the scene, while 11 were rushed to a nearby hospital. Two more were later declared dead at the hospital”.

Cele said: “There were about 130 empty cartridges of AK47, which means those […] really meant business of killing… But also, there were cartridges of small guns”.

‘Cele Must Go’

Meanwhile, South Africans strongly believe “Cele must go” – if the attendance of Monday’s Top Of The Morning Twitter Space by Switch is anything to go by.

A user known as Landless Le’awty’ said there aren’t enough officers to be deployed to Soweto, and this will only create additional problems down the line.

In a separate tweet, Landless added: “Power in South Africa is only threatening when it eats and feeds on black bodies”.

WATCH: EFF and Operation Dudula clash at scene of deadly tavern shooting in Soweto

One netizen, Dima Msuthu, said: “The weapons will not be found if you disclose strategy as easy as ABC, Bheki Cele should have deployed a 48-hour state of emergency to arrest terrorists.”

Another added: “As the youth [of] 2022 we can’t be dying in the streets like the youth in the 70s. I say no to that one”.