A MAN linked to a number of cases including a recent drive-by in Wentworth was arrested and appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 5 August.
Police officers from the eThekwini District Trio Task Team arrested the 21-year-old man on two counts of attempted murder where a 36-year-old man and a friend were shot and injured on Lansdowne Road on Thursday, 30 July.
“Further charges include cases of robbery, malicious damage to property and another case of attempted murder. It is alleged that on 27 July, two men fired shots at a 22-year-old male while he was at his residential premises on Hime Street,” said provincial spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele.
She said the suspect is in police custody and will be charged accordingly and that further investigations are being conducted to link the suspect with other violent incidents in the area.
The shootings coincided with the release of the 2019/ 20 national crime statistics by police minister, Bheki Cele, which mostly sited a spike in crime within the financial year.
Chairperson of the Wentworth community policing forum, pastor Donovan Anderson, said the area is riddled with guns and drive-by shootings seem to be the order of the day lately.
“Unlicensed firearms and drive-by shootings are happening practically every day. The reports are to the extent that innocent victims are getting caught in the crossfire. A comedian was shot at on Lansdowne Road and a woman in a car on Tifflin Road on the Friday before that,” he said.
A source close to the comedian, Andrew Hughes, who wished to remain anonymous, said he sustained wounds to the chest and wrist and that he is in a stable condition, but in a lot of pain.
Anderson lambasted the high crime rate in the area and said the situation was now out of control and called for strengthened police interventions.
“The police know the area and the fact that we have been crying out for help. But, currently, there is a major problem especially when it comes to manpower at the station.”
“Seeing crime statistics and what is going on, I believe that we need a provincial or national police intervention to beef up the force or remove the officers who we think are not needed here and bring in fresh blood,” he said.
While figures from the Wentworth policing precinct were not readily available, reports of neighbouring stations revealed that Montclair had 2 627 reported cases while Brighton Beach had 2 455, as according to the analytical guidelines for the reported crimes in the country, Crime Stats SA.
“Crime stats show a high rate because of what is going on right now. The area is a hot spot for crime and even though it is not the entire place, gangs fight among each other. It is about time that if we don’t see change, we must take further steps.”
“Wentworth was peaceful at the start of lockdown and now it has just gotten out of hand,” said Anderson, who also appealed to the justice system for harsher bail conditions.
“The motive for this shooting is unknown at this stage and it is subject to police investigation. Wentworth police detectives and Vispol officers attended the scene. Spent cartridges were seized by officers at the scene.”
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula welcomed the latest crackdown on criminality in Wentworth. “It is pleasing to see that the strong partnership between the police and the community is bearing fruits. Criminals will soon realise that they are not wanted in Wentworth,” he said.
Witnesses to this crime are encouraged to step forward to report to the police anonymously through the Crime Stop hotline on 086-001-0111, call 10111 or the Wentworth police on 031-451-6240/6241/6242.
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