Africa-Press – South-Africa. Two men have been released from custody after they were taken in for questioning in connection with a shooting that occurred at Samkelisiwe Tavern in Pietermaritzburg, police said on Wednesday.
“Two men were taken in for questioning and were later released,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala said.
‘Thick with blood’: Pietermaritzburg tavern owner to get armed security as staff reel after rampage
She could not give details, saying that investigations are at a sensitive stage.
“The matter is still under investigation.”
Tavern safety has come under the spotlight after tavern patrons were killed in Nomzamo in Soweto, Katlehong and Pietermaritzburg.
In total, one weekend of tavern shootings claimed 22 lives.
Pietermaritzburg tavern owner Hendry Ngubane, the owner of Hendry’s Tavern, which has operated since 1998, told News24 that he was not afraid of criminals and added that blaming tavern owners for crime was unfair.
“In general, it has nothing to do with taverners. They are soft targets, but the issue here is crime and the government dealing with crime. Crime has a lot to do with intelligence and punishment. Are police picking up the people with AK-47s with them?” Ngubane said.
He said the government “needs to tighten up on crime, not tavern owners”.
He added:
While visiting the tavern on Monday, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi called on communities to become police informers.
“I want citizens who…see wrong [to] report it on the spot. Yes, we are under-resourced, we need more vehicles and many other things, but in an area like this, with a population of 300 000 people, how many police officers are we supposed to have?”
He added that if the Sweetwaters community was the “eyes and ears of the police”, investigations would run more smoothly.
“We cannot patrol in every dark place and every foot path that becomes a challenge. I want to encourage communities to be informers and share the information with us because without that information, we will not know who is planning what.”
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