Six people were shot dead in the Eastern Cape on Sunday as mourners attended a memorial service for 18 victims of a mass shooting last weekend in Lusikisiki, some 200km away.
Eastern Cape police have launched a manhunt for eight armed men who killed six community patrol members in Godini village, near Tina Falls, Qumbu.
Among the dead was the village headman. Four people wounded in the attack were taken to hospital. The dead were all men aged between 40 and 71, while the wounded men were aged between 23 and 57.
National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola visited the scene on Monday.
The community crime fighters were meeting at the local school to prepare for their nightly patrol when they were attacked shortly before 11pm.
Provincial police spokesperson W/O Majola Nkohli said on Monday the motive for the killings had not been established. However, some Godini villagers suggested they could be linked to the recent killing of a relative of a wanted stock thief.
Stock theft is rampant in the Qumbu area.
“On Sunday [at about] 10.45pm, a group of at least eight men, armed with rifles and handguns, opened fire on a group of community patrollers. Six people succumbed to their injuries and four victims were taken to hospital,” Nkohli said.
“The patrollers were at a school preparing for their evening patrols when they were attacked.
“The [shooters] are still at large.”
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nomthetheleli Mene condemned the “senseless and brutal” killings.
“We have mobilised maximum resources. We are deeply concerned that those who were working with and assisting the police are being targeted. We will do everything in our power to ensure those behind this shooting are apprehended,” Mene said.
Mbalisweni Royal Council head and Godini village chief Nkosi Nofezekile Novulinkundla Mbangata said the community was shocked.
Though they did not want to speculate, there had been an altercation recently in the village after a youth related to a suspected stock thief was killed.
The patrol group had been formed years ago by villagers attempting to combat stock theft. They took turns patrolling at night, keeping a lookout for suspicious vehicles because most of the stolen animals were loaded into cars and trucks.
A Godini villager said residents were woken by gunfire.
Some at the community patrollers’ meeting escaped.
“Some of the men managed to scale the fences and hide in dongas.”
Another villager, who asked not to be identified, said even if people reported stock theft to the police, their animals were never recovered.
Stock thieves sometimes taunted their victims when they arrived to steal animals, daring people to stop them.
Meanwhile, Kumkani Mhlontlo local municipality bosses have sent condolences to the victims’ families and messages of support for the wounded.
Municipal spokesperson Mamela Mangcotywa said the killings had left officials concerned about the safety and wellbeing of residents in the area. “No words can adequately convey the sorrow and pain this horrific act has brought upon these families, and we stand with them in this difficult time. We are in communication with the police, and we urge law enforcement to prioritise the investigation and bring those responsible to justice.”
She called on people to remain calm and allow police to conduct their investigation, saying the municipality would monitor the situation. It would also provide support to the affected families, Mangcotywa said.
Eastern Cape Community Policing Forum (CPF) secretary Ludumo Salman expressed condolences to the bereaved families. He said it was unclear whether the patrollers had formally registered as a CPF but the CPF would issue a statement later.
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