The Ministry of Police said police minister Bheki Cele would outline plans to ensure “guns are silenced” in Westbury.
The ministry said that while Cele did not meet with Westbury residents who are angry about gang violence, he met with community leaders to find out about the ongoing problems in the area.
Cele and top police officers, including acting national commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili and provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela visited the Sophiatown Police Station on Thursday.
Westbury visited
The visit follows a spate of gang and drug-related shootings in the Westbury and Newclare areas, following the killing of Fast Guns gang leader Keenen Ebrahim.
The 38-year-old was shot dead in a hit west of Johannesburg last week.
In the past week, at least thirteen people have been shot in various incidents in Westbury.
Talk to The WargaMinistry of Police spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said it was clear why Cele went to Sophiatown police station there.
“This is to get an assessment from Saps of the operational response to violence and also to find a more sustainable plan and a sustainable solution to gang violence in the area.”
“So the plan is not to go and interact with members of the community, on a visit to the Sophiatown Police Station he interacted with community leaders, and here he was able to find out about the problems that are still emerging in the area.” said Themba.
Also read: Gangster when he was 9 turned Westbury into a war zone
2018 Intervention
Themba added that Cele visited Westbury in October 2018, where an intervention took place.
“The meeting we had yesterday, with Saps, was to find out what we have done so far to make sure the community is safer and the guns are not silent.”
“However, having said that, the police minister yesterday promised to return to the area and to be in contact with the residents. So, it is a little premature for Westbury residents to say that they are not in contact with them when this was never part of the plan,” said Themba .
The gun is silent
Themba says Cele’s real commitment is community involvement.
“There will be an outlining of resources as well as multi-governmental interventions that will be put in place to ensure that the guns are silenced,” Themba added.
Also Read: Read: Notorious Fast Guns gang leader killed in apparent attack