On Tuesday, Police Minister Bheki Cele provided an update on the latest strides made in the investigation into the Phoenix murders.
Phoenix murders: Death toll, latest updates
The minister was with KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Sihle Zikalala at the media briefing about the latest efforts made by law enforcement on social cohesion interventions in the Durban North suburb.
Cele confirmed that thus far, the tally in the Phoenix murders stands at 36. He explained that 30 victims were killed by gunfire, two were burned to death, another victim was fatally stabbed and one other died after sustaining trauma injuries from being run over by a vehicle.
The community has maintained that this response was the only resort left to them as police were not fast enough in protecting the residential neighbourhood from crowds believed to be linked to the shutdown riots.
The DA’s Dean Macpherson, in an interview with Swisher Post News, had also supported the notion of private citizens bearing arms and engaging in violent confrontation with suspected looters.
“I meant exactly that. It is a lawless situation in many communities. I’ve been on the ground, myself, in Phoenix. I have witnessed the utter chaos that has taken place and the immense destruction and the only thing that stands between anarchy and some form of order is what the communities have put together themselves.
“It would be a terrible situation if the communities were to withdraw at this point, without a stabilisation of the situation on the ground and without that massive deployment arriving in those communities. So, it was completely full-hard of the mayor and the metro police to call for that because it would just totally expose the communities at the moment,” the DA leader said at the time.
Phoenix murders: Suspects in custody thus far
A special task force made up of 31 detectives from precincts outside of Phoenix has gotten underway with investigations into the mass murders. At this time, at least 22 suspects have been linked to the murders.
Moreover, the investigation is also looking into the role played by private security firms in the violence that left dead bodies strewn on the streets of the Durban North suburb.
More than 152 firearms have been seized from four security firms working in Phoenix and a further 112 illegal guns were removed from the possession of residents.
Phoenix victims names revealed
Ballistic tests will be conducted to link the murder weapon in the 30 killings and this, Cele claimed, will provide further strength in cases being built against suspects.
Reading out the names of the victims, Cele vowed to bring closure to families whose loved ones were lost to the violence.
“Jiyane, Ngema, Ngidi, Mkhize, Majola, Chetty, Mwamba, Mncwabe, Canza, Mfeka, Mchunu, Muchave, Khumalo, Radebe, Mthembu, Naidoo, Govender, Nomgqa, Gaba, Cheswa, Zuma, Shitawa, Msomi, Sibisi, Thusi and Mkhize families [need to] find closure to knowing the truth about what have happened to their loved ones,” the minister said.