Pretoria - Three suspects in the case of the Nongoma shootings, which resulted in the death of numerous people over the past few months, will appear in court today.
Two of the suspects were arrested in Benoni this weekend for unlawful possession of firearms and will appear at the Benoni Magistrate Court today. The other suspect was arrested on Saturday in Nongoma and will also appear at the Nongoma Magistrate Court today.
During the arrests, police recovered three Norinco 9mm pistols, Z88 pistols, LM5 (civilian version of the R5 rifle), which had serial numbers filed off, as well as 39 9mm live rounds.
The arrests come just less than a week after Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa visited the area as part of a collective effort with communities aimed at ending the brutal killings in the area.
The conflict in the area is believed to have started as a dispute between two families, but it has escalated, claiming 20 lives since December 2012.
Furthermore, the conflict has had a negative impact on the area, disrupting normal life and schooling, with 1 486 learners being affected. Some of the community members have fled their homes, opting to sleep in the bushes.
Mthethwa has urged the police to continue working diligently on the case.
“More still needs to be done,” he said, attributing the progress to the integrated approach of involving different units, including the National Intervention, Detectives and Crime Intelligence.
“We are confident that more arrests are imminent. When we interacted with the community of Nongoma last week, we promised that police will do their best to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended.
“These arrests and confiscation of these illegal firearms confirm that our promise was not just rhetoric. We vowed that those who perpetrate such killings and violence can run but we shall find them. We have therefore kept our promise,” said Mthethwa. – SAnews.gov.za
