Manuel meets with Khayelitsha residents
Minister Trevor Manuel met with Khayelitsha residents following another vigilante killing.
CAPE TOWN - National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel on Thursday said the breakdown of trust between the police and Khayelitsha residents needs serious and urgent attention.
The minister met with community members and police as part of a fact finding mission.
He said the dispute caused a spate of vigilante killings in the area.
Manuel said the growing number of Khayelitsha residents who took the law into their own hands proved they no longer trusted the police.
He believes the issue can no longer be ignored.
With Western Cape Police Commissioner Arno Lamoer present, he told community leaders the only way to tackle these issues is to talk about them constantly as they cannot be addressed instantly.
The meeting came just two days after a suspected thief was killed by a mob of angry residents in Makhaza.
The 26-year-old was beaten to death before his body was set alight.
In 2012, more than 10 people died after community members took the law into their own hands.
Other issues raised include drugs, sexual violence and the scourge of gangsterism.
In 2012, non-governmental organisations asked Premier Helen Zille to investigate policing in Khayelitsha.
In August, Zille set up the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry, but Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa took the matter to court as he believed the inquiry was not necessary.
Mthethwa lost his application in the Western Cape High Court, but is expected to appeal the judgment.
