KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has called on police to scour every corner of the province and strain every nerve in their bodies in finding the gunmen involved in the spate of mass shootings in the province at the weekend that claimed the lives of 11 people.

According to police reports, the latest incident happened at 13h30 yesterday in Ndwedwe Mission when unknown assailants opened fire on a group of men who were sitting in the veranda of a tuck shop. The gunmen fled the scene immediately after indiscriminately discharging a volley of shots, snuffing out the lives of the people in an instant. Four men died at the scene while three others were taken to hospital for medical attention. One of the men later died in hospital.

In a separate incident that took place at 22h30 on Friday evening, seven men were in a room at an informal settlement in Clermont when unknown gunmen began shooting randomly fatally wounding six people. After firing multiple shots, the gunmen fled the scene.

Premier Dube-Ncube expressed utter outrage after learning about the callous mass shootings in the province.

“We send our deepest condolences to the families and relative of all those who lost their lives as a result of these senseless murders. We unreservedly condemn in the strongest terms possible the brutal murder of 11 people in Ndwedwe and Clermont in two separate incidents at the weekend and call on the police to scour every nook and cranny of the province and to strain every nerve in their bodies to find the perpetrators of this horrendous act so that they can be brought to book. As we are approaching the festive season, police have been tasked to identify all crime hotspots in the province as part of our comprehensive Festive Season Integrated Safety Plan and deploy additional officers in order to beef-up visibility. We will not allow a situation whereby citizens live in fear,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.

Premier Dube-Ncube reiterated that the Provincial Government has a zero-tolerance stance towards all types of crime, more especially murder.

“We call on members of the community to come forward with information that can assist police in the investigation. Issues pertaining to safety and security requires an integrated approach from all sectors of society. Government, business, civil society including community policing forums need to work together to address criminal activities and instability in order to ensure a safe society and thriving economy. We will never win the war against crime if community members continue to protect criminals,” concluded Premier Dube-Ncube.

The Provincial Organised Crime Unit is investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.

Ends

Issued by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government on behalf of Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube