Cele visits 'scared' Mariannhill residents after cops killed 9 suspects
Police Minister Bheki Cele says the community is paranoid as they believe some of the criminals who have been terrorising Mariannhill are among them.
Police process the scene of a shooting where nine suspected criminals died in Mariannhill, KZN on 3 April 2024. Picture: Nhlanhla Mabaso/Eyewitness News
DURBAN - Police Minister Bheki Cele was met by a despondent community in Desia, Mariannhill west of Durban, on Thursday.
This is where nine suspected criminals were shot and killed on Wednesday morning.
Cele and other police top brass visited the community to find out about their safety concerns, however, not a single person spoke out about such.
Cele said this showed how much suspected criminals are feared in the area.
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#sapsKZN [HAPPENING NOW]
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) April 4, 2024
Minister of Police General Bheki Cele is currently hosting a street #Imbizo at Desai in Mariannhill, following the yesterday's shootout with police which left nine suspects fatally wounded. NP pic.twitter.com/NXIRRMJ3bR
“Well I would understand that the community is scared, something big happened here and all that. I have spoken to them privately, they have given me some stories and all that.”
He, however, said some people told him that there could still be more criminals in the area.
“They fear because they don’t believe that the sweeping has been completed here, they believe that two people have run away and there are some who worked with them.”
[ICYMI] Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele does not mince his words as he throws his support behind the country’s @SAPoliceService officers who decisively deal with criminals facing hard core criminals. Cele says police should NOT die with guns in their hands. pic.twitter.com/6irajH9aQq
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) April 4, 2024