Police Minister Bheki Cele visited Diepsloot on Wednesday following a protest over killings in the suburb. Cele said more police would be deployed to the area in the next 24 hours. He added he would be back on Friday with Home Affairs
One person was killed in Diepsloot on Wednesday night, allegedly by a mob, just hours after Police Minister Bheki Cele and the police’s top brass visited the area.
Diepsloot’s community policing forum secretary, Kutlwano Moalosi, said they received information on Thursday morning that the man was killed in Extension 1.
Moalosi said:
“The community chased after him and caught him and burnt him apparently.”
Moalosi said they were still trying to get more information.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Brenda Muridili, said the mob went door to door at around 21:00 on Wednesday, and demanded passports from foreigners. When they entered one home, a man fled the scene, she said.
They chased after the man and killed him. The man has been identified as a Zimbabwe national.
On Wednesday, Cele told the media that seven people were killed in the area over the weekend.
The spate of killings triggered mass protests, and the community threatened to shut down the township.
Cele promised the community that about 30 members of the Tactical Response Team and Public Order Policing would be deployed to the area.
“The new national commissioner will bring 10 police vehicles from tonight, and the province will bring six more. This means that in the next 24 hours, the station will have 16 new cars,” he said.
