North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management Wessels Morweng has commended police for the swift arrest of three suspects linked to the fatal shooting of a taxi operator at the Rustenburg taxi rank on Friday.
The shooting occurred while the taxi rank was crowded with commuters, causing panic among members of the public. According to reports, an off-duty police officer who was at the scene immediately alerted colleagues after witnessing the incident.
Police were reportedly informed that a vehicle with Gauteng registration plates had arrived at the taxi rank before three men, believed to be in their early twenties, exited the vehicle, drew firearms and opened fire on the taxi operator. The suspects allegedly fled the scene shortly afterwards.
Morweng praised officers for acting quickly and arresting the suspects within hours of the shooting.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our officers because we are quick to criticise them and hardly ever acknowledge them when they do the right thing. We remain unwavering in our commitment to deal harshly with criminal elements in our communities,” said Morweng.
The MEC explained that officers pursued the suspects after receiving a description of the vehicle and the direction in which it fled. Police later intercepted the vehicle, arrested the suspects and confiscated firearms believed to have been used in the murder, along with the vehicle involved.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of the North West Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management, Freddy Sonakile, expressed concern over a recent wave of violent crime incidents across the province.
Sonakile questioned the effectiveness of police intelligence structures, citing several recent incidents including ATM bombings, the discovery of a multi-million-rand drug laboratory in Swartruggens, and the murder of Mahikeng activist Thato “Senganga” Molosankwe.
“We are concerned about the responsiveness of police intelligence following the recent series of crime incidents in the province. Had intelligence systems been functioning optimally, some of these crimes might have been detected or prevented earlier,” Sonakile said.
