Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has ramped up police visibility, community engagement, and targeted interventions in the Western Cape with immediate effect, following a series of mass murders that have shaken Cape Town communities.
This follows the mass murder in the Kanana informal settlement, in Gugulethu on Saturday, in which seven men were shot and killed. The victims appear to have been ambushed while socialising.
READ MORE: Two men identified with info on Gugulethu mass murder
This incident follows the discovery of three bodies in Samora Machel on 24 June and a deadly hijacking-related shooting in Nyanga on 26 June claimed the lives of three suspects’ hijackers.
“There is no doubt that the Cape Flats in Cape Town have indeed become the killing fields of the Western Cape. What the Police Ministry and Police Top Management must refuse to do is to treat this as a normal trend and keep the normal methods of policing in place,” said Mchunu.
Mchunu emphasised the need for an intensified and intelligence-led approach, with “no resource spared” to reel in the ongoing violent crimes in the city.
This follows the launch of Operation Shanela 2 on Friday. The initiative is designed to counter high murder rates, the proliferation of illegal firearms, drug trafficking, and gender-based violence.
“Police have a mandate to protect life and limb of the people, with no resources spared. The situation demands a targeted approach before these murderers intensify their terror on people. They are not unknown to the Police; they have to be found and confronted,” added Mchunu.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
⁰28 June 2025MINISTRY OF @SAPoliceService EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN OVER SPATE OF MASS KILLINGS IN THE WESTERN CAPE
The Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu, has expressed deep concern and outrage following a series of mass killings that have shocked the…
— Senzo Mchunu (@Senzo_Mchunu_) June 28, 2025
The Western Cape Provincial Community Police Board has also condemned the killings, calling the violence “acts of terror against our communities.” The Board supports the minister’s intervention but stresses the need for “unrelenting, focused, and sustained action.”
The board urged locals, specifically in Gugulethu, Nyanga and Samora Machel, to assist by providing information that could help bring perpetrators to justice.
“These killings – whether gang-related or carried out by other organised criminal elements – have left families shattered, communities traumatised, and the very fabric of society under siege,” said the board in a statement.
Tip-offs can be submitted anonymously via Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or through the MySAPS App.
