Premier vows to stop criminal groups’ terror
Two people were assaulted and hacked with pangas before they were shot and killed as a result of infighting between two notorious criminal groups in Nkowankowa outside Tzaneen.
LIMPOPO – Premier, Stanley Mathabatha, dispatched a contingent of police officers to the crime prone village of Nkowankowa outside Tzaneen after six people were brutally killed since 2014, two of the four killed last weekend.
The victims were assaulted and hacked with pangas before they were shot and killed as a result of infighting between two notorious criminal groups.
These two criminal groups have held the communities of Nkowankowa, Dan, Mokgoloboto, Bridgeway, Lenyenye, and Tiecyline in a grip of terror since 2014.
Violence erupted after a group, calling themselves The Boko Haram (not related to the terror group in Nigeria), attacked everyone they came across on the streets of Nkowankowa and Dan village at night. Matters came to a head when another group, calling themselves Sankhinya, split with The Boko Haram and threatened to spill the beans about their nefarious crimes.
Four of the people were killed in 2014 and two were killed last Sunday in separate incidents. On hearing the news, Mathabatha acted swiftly and visited the area with the Limpopo Police Provincial Commissioner, Lt Col Nneke Ledwaba.
Mathabatha on arrival described the situation in the area as despicable and worrying.
“As we leave here today, we will ensure those responsible are brought to book and behind bars where they belong. We have agreed in principle with the police, government and other community structures to work together tirelessly to ensure the area is crime free and safe,” Mathabatha assured.
Dan Development Committee Chairperson and community activist, Nickolas Shingange, alleged that a sizeable number of senior police officers at the Ritavi Police Station, where the incidents took place, were involved with the criminals.
“We know all those whose hands are bloodied and we are prepared to work with you, but please, don’t send a boy to do a man’s job,” Shingange urged Mathabatha and Ledwaba during their visit.
One of the residents, Hlopheka Shivuri of Mokgoloboto, said women and children are most often targeted by the groups. many of them are raped while other victims are mugged and robbed of their valuables, she explained.
A former Community Policing Forum member in Dan village, Collen Ngobeni, said The Boko Haram comes from a political faction in Nkowankowa and Dan village which comprised of those who were pro-former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe and those against President Jacob Zuma months before the Manguang conference.
The group started out by looting people’s shops and later formed a gang comprising of both thugs and ruthless and dunderhead politicians killing people and raping women.
Limpopo Police Spokesperson, Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe, said two people have been arrested in connection with last Sunday’s killings and appeared before the Ritavi Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of murder where the case was postponed to 27 February. They were remanded in custody. He said more charges and arrests are imminent.
Ngoepe identified the deceased as Freedom Sephiwe Numero (23) and Sekomela Fire Nkgapelo (26).
