Criminologist professor Jaco Barkhuizen described the Soweto tavern capturing on Sunday as horrendous.
“It is not just the Soweto shooting, it’s all the shootings across the country. We have to stop and ask what is going on,” he mentioned.
Barkhuizen mentioned it was alarming taverns had been websites of prison exercise and violence. “This is not isolated and is becoming more frequent. We need to look at why this was happening and ask where our crime intelligence was,” he mentioned.
Barkhuizen mentioned mass homicide and mass shootings had been normally premeditated. “We need to ask if it was a lone shooter or a syndicate and how can we prevent it. It doesn’t matter if you change the age of alcohol consumption or if you ban firearms. Someone will get a hold of a firearm and someone will drink underage,” he mentioned.
President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned yesterday safety companies and neighborhood members should work collectively to “urgently bring the perpetrators of the two attacks to book”.
“As a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorise us in this way, regardless of where such incidents may occur,” Ramaphosa mentioned.
“As authorities, residents and constructions of civil society we should all work collectively much more carefully to enhance social and financial circumstances in communities, cut back violent crime and stamp out the illicit circulation of firearms.
“Every single violent death is unacceptable and worrying, and killings on the scale we have seen in Soweto, Pietermaritzburg and previously Khayelitsha must spur us into a collective effort to build communities and make South Africa an unsafe place for criminals,” mentioned Ramaphosa.
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Barkhuizen mentioned South Africa’s crime prevention technique was outdated. He requested if we had been getting a return on funding as taxpayers if 60% of the police finances was spent on salaries.
“We want to be assured when against the law is dedicated that the prison justice system is useful. From the police investigation to prosecutors proper by means of to correction companies.
“It is time for SA to stand up and say enough is enough. It is getting out of hand,” he mentioned.
Democratic Alliance member of the portfolio committee on human settlements Dr Ntombi Khumalo mentioned it was worrying that these incidents occurred every day in South Africa.
“Looking at crime statistics and the rising murder rate, this reiterates the big problem in South Africa in terms of crime, policing and law enforcement. We need to professionalise the police service and start enforcing accountability,” she mentioned.
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Khumalo mentioned the police had to set up partnerships with the communities. “You can’t anticipate this occurring on a Saturday evening on a selected day.
“Despite police patrols, when you notice areas with shebeens in informal settlements, it is clear a situation like this will happen.”
Khumalo mentioned the tavern was licensed however it solely had one entrance. “We should look at the bylaws. If you sense danger and you were in there, there was nowhere to run because there was only one door which the danger came in through,” she mentioned.
“We hear all the problems, but we are not hearing solutions,” she mentioned.
Gauteng premier David Makhura mentioned it couldn’t be allowed that “innocent people are killed like animals”.
“We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the senseless killing of so many people. We call on the law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book.”
