Two more people have been killed in shootings in Hout Bay with police saying they have no witnesses or leads at this stage.
Both incidents happened in Imizamo Yethu at the weekend.
A 48-year-old man was shot in OR Tambo Road, at about 5.10pm. He was taken to the Hout Bay fire station where he later died, said Hout Bay police station commander Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Syster.
“At this moment, it is still unknown as to what the motive of the shooting was,” he said.
The following day, at about 7.10pm, a 40-year-old man was shot dead in Disa Site. Police found four shell casings at the scene and again said the motive for the shooting was unknown.
A series of killings has rocked the Hout Bay area in recent months.
Last month, Hangberg residents protested in the streets over a wave of killings in the neighbourhood, including the deaths of two men and a 13-year-old boy, all killed within hours of each other on the same day. (“More lives lost as shootings continue,” Sentinel News, August 12, 2022).
The ongoing violence has alarmed residents, and Monica van Tonder, of Hout Bay, wrote to Sentinel News last week asking, “What is happening to Hout Bay?”
“Hout Bay never experienced this many murders in a while, and our community was always proud to boast about that. That feeling is no more,” she said.
In IY, Xola Malume, a father of four, said he feared for his children, who walk to and from school on their own.
“I have to work from the early hours into the night, and knowing all these shootings are happening doesn’t make me feel better because my children are walking in the streets as well.”
He called for the police to be more visible in the area.
“These criminals must know police are on top of them. We have these guys just walking around killing people and thinking it’s okay. People won’t speak up because they are too scared, but it’s unfair that we have to live like this. It’s already hard for us, and now our own people make it even harder,” Mr Malume said.
Hout Bay Community Police Forum chairman Anthony Chemaly said the murder rate in Hout Bay was “completely unacceptable”.
“The CPF has been engaging SAPS management constantly over investigating the causes and hopefully making some arrests. The CPF will continue to apply pressure to SAPS to fully investigate the murders,” he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Syster asked anyone with information to contact Captain Gatyana at 082 469 2576, Detective Sergeant Duna at 079 894 1226 or Hout Bay SAPS at 021 791 8660.
“All leads will be followed up,” he said.
