Three killed in alleged vigilante attack in Cape Town after spate of killings

Three men have been set alight and killed in Kraaifontein.

Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images

Three men have been set alight and killed in Kraaifontein.The attack followed a visit to the area by police top brass on Wednesday.The area has been among those that has seen a spate of shootings this week.In what police described as an act of vigilantism,three men were killed and their bodies were set alight in Kraaifontein,Cape Town,on Wednesday night.

Their murders followed a spate of killings in the area,which resulted in the death of six people on Monday and Tuesday.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut,detectives “are pursuing every possible lead to trace and arrest those responsible” for the “brutal” murders.

“At approximately 22:00,police were alerted to the incident in La Boheme Street,Wallacedene,where the bodies of the victims were discovered. Preliminary information suggests that the victims were accused by community members of criminal activity. Instead of allowing the law to take its course,they were violently attacked,” said Traut.

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“The South African Police Service condemns vigilantism in the strongest possible terms. Taking the law into one’s own hands is a criminal offence,and those who participate in such acts will be prosecuted.”

Anyone with further information is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

News24 previously reported that four women were killed in Wallacedene,Kraaifontein,in two shootings only 10 minutes apart. At around 23:30 in Molefe Street,two women aged 19 and 25 were killed,and another person was wounded. Just ten minutes later,two other women in their 20s were shot dead in Taleman Street. Police have not ruled out the possibility that the two incidents are connected.

READ | Bloody Western Cape weekend: 10 killed in shootings,stabbings

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Police arrested a 49-year-old man allegedly linked to one of the double murders.

Community leaders in Kraaifontein told News24 that the bloodshed had become unbearable.

“Every day we hear someone has been shot,it has to stop,” Community Police Forum member Mawethu Sisila said.

“The community is scared. Scared of the criminals,scared of trusting the police. We do not know how this will be addressed.”

Eleven people were killed in violence across Cape Town on Tuesday night,only hours after Police Minister Firoz Cachalia conceded that police lacked the intelligence and resources to dismantle the powerful gang syndicates driving the bloodshed.