EDITORIAL | Tavern shootings expose how out of their depth cops are

Fifteen people shot dead in a Soweto tavern in Johannesburg. Nine wounded. Two people killed in a tavern shooting in Katlehong on Johannesburg’s East Rand. Four wounded. Four people shot dead in a tavern in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. Eight wounded. A total of 137 spent cartridges on the scene in Soweto. The stats from these shootings over the same weekend tell a tale of devastation. Police minister Bheki Cele summed up the horror when he pointed out the Soweto shooters used so many rounds they would have had to reload mid-attack.

“These people came to kill and destroy,” said Cele.

Speculation on the motive and links between the shootings is rife. Cele on Monday afternoon dismissed talk that the three shootings were linked, saying the police did not have information that these were co-ordinated attacks. He also brushed off claims of terrorism, sparked by a bizarre statement released by the ministry of foreign affairs in Qatar condemning the Soweto attack and affirming its “firm position against violence and terrorism”.

At the moment, we have more questions than answers. Just like the families of the 21 young people who recently died in the Enyobeni tavern tragedy in the Eastern Cape, the relatives of those slain at the weekend have to deal with immeasurable grief. This while waiting for some sense of closure as authorities try to piece together why their loved ones died. As with the Enyobeni deaths, questions are being asked about how this could have been prevented. We are quick to point fingers. In that matter, the Eastern Cape liquor board vowed the tavern owner would face criminal charges. On Sunday, the KwaZulu-Natal liquor authority said tavern owners, in their capacity as liquor licence holders, are required to submit a detailed security plan for inside the premises and within a range of five metres outside. “Licence holders are further required to ensure firearms are not permitted within their premises as part of their licence conditions”. It went on to say: “Should the liquor authority find there was not any compliance and/or any breach of licence conditions, the necessary steps will be taken against the licence holder which may lead to the licence being suspended/or cancelled.”

It is fair to make security in and around a tavern part of the owner’s responsibility. It is also fair to ask what kind of policing and patrolling were taking place at the targeted taverns before the attacks. But these shootings are really exposing our compromised police capabilities. We have written about it many times and just recently the portfolio committee on police was made aware of all the problems and lack of resources and low morale officers are dealing with on a daily basis. This as SA’s crime rate is shooting through the roof. South Africans are looking to the police for protection, but our murder rate surged by 22% in the first three months of the year. Criminologist Jaco Barkhuizen has told EWN our nearly 70 killings a day is higher than in some war-torn countries. Added to this is our lack of crime intelligence. Our security forces were in no state to predict or prevent the July riots last year. They were at a loss to pre-empt or stop Isis attacks on local soil on New Year’s Day in January 2020. In fact, it took them more than two years to classify it as an Islamic State attack.

So when Cele says there is no information linking the three weekend tavern shootings, we can believe him. Based on their track record, it is highly likely the police have scant intelligence on the attacks. That also means the possibility remains there is a connection between the killings. It simply tells us our police service does not know. A security cluster in the dark leaves a nation groping for clarity. Our authorities need to prioritise its investigations into what went down this past weekend. We need an efficient and transparent probe to bring those responsible to book and prevent SA from another dubious title: the tavern shooting capital of the world.