A specialised task force from the police’s elite National Intervention Unit (NIU) has been enlisted to flush out ruthless criminals terrorising Nelson Mandela Bay and Mthatha.
The impact of the unit has been felt already, with operations this week leading to the deaths of two suspected extortion kingpins who had first pulled guns and fired shots at police.
This comes in the wake of hundreds of people filling the Lilian Ngoyi Sports Centre on Thursday in protest against crime.
Residents, health professionals and business owners voiced concerns about the crippling effect of crime, expressing how extortion had left them living in fear both at home and work.
The police also launched an extortion hotline in Motherwell on Thursday.
The aim is to collect information and assess the scale of protection fee rackets in the province.
In a no-holds-barred interview on Thursday, Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said NIU operations were launched in direct response to urgent pleas for help made to police minister Senzo Mchunu during imbizos in Nelson Mandela Bay and Mthatha.
Mchunu has visited the Bay twice in 2024 as crime continues to soar.
Mabuyane, travelling back to SA after two weeks in China, said the goal was to flush out thugs and gangsters.
He urged police not to shy away when confronted and to respond directly.
“The police have been overwhelmed with crime. This is why we called for the NIU and even the army to come.
“In Port St Johns, when it got a little out of hand, we called the NIU and it quietened down.
“We want them to stay longer because I am happy with the progress.
“We want to flush out criminals in Gqeberha, Mthatha and East London because criminality is showing its ugly head, especially in our small towns,” he said.
Mabuyane said Bay district police commissioner Major-General Vuyisile Ncata had told him that one of the suspects gunned down in Gqeberha was an alleged extortion kingpin.
“When police approached him, he pulled [a gun] and police retaliated.
“We repeat, police must not hesitate if someone decides to threaten the police or pull something out.
“Police must not run away but must deal with the situation.”
In Motherwell, acting on intelligence about a man with an unlicensed firearm in NU11, police shot dead the suspect after he pointed a gun at officers on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Mthatha West, Nkosi Sakhumzi Sakhi Dalinzolo Mareke, the headman of Mandela Park, was fatally shot on Wednesday.
Mareke and two alleged accomplices, suspected of being part of an extortion ring terrorising the community, were killed in a shootout with officers.
Earlier, the NIU was involved in a disruptive operation in Mthatha West. Once done, they headed home.
They were followed by two vehicles. As they arrived, the two vehicles stopped behind them. Three men armed with firearms opened fire.
Police retaliated, fatally wounding three men.
In an interview last week, Mareke confirmed there were allegations of extortion against him, but said they were unfounded.
“They are just making me look bad. There are criminals targeting businesses, hospitals and schools lying that I instructed them to collect protection fees.”
Mareke said he had served time in prison for possession of illegal firearms, among other charges, but claimed he was reformed.
“I never killed anyone. I served my time, rehabilitated and now I am on a quest to fight crime.
“Look at Gayton McKenzie, former gangster and prisoner — he is not only the president of a political party, but a cabinet minister, who is vocal against crime.”
Meanwhile, Mabuyane said police must protect themselves from anyone who threatened to kill them.
“If that protection means killing criminals, so be it.
“Where people threaten to kill police, they must retaliate and hit hard.
“Our people want peace. People must walk freely in the streets without being fearful.”
Mabuyane said crime in the Bay was organised from the St Albans prison and in Mthatha it was the Wellington prison.
“Correctional services and police had an operation where they confiscated phones.
“We have said that these acts of criminality are co-ordinated from prisons.”
Mabuyane urged residents to use the police’s extortion hotlines, adding that whistle-blowers would be protected.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said the NIU was deployed in the Bay and OR Tambo region to support police.
“The deployment is part of the interventions committed by the national police office.
“The unit is meant to address high-risk operations.”
Mawisa did not say how long the NIU had been operating in the two cities.
According to insiders, the NIU arrived in the province in August and will remain for at least three months.
The NIU provides operational support to the special task force in various areas, including criminal control and protection during legal procedures, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism operations, crowd control and riot management, hostage rescue and hostage negotiations, operations in diverse terrain, protection of high-risk locations, search and arrest operations.
At the Lilian Ngoyi Sports Centre, Kwazakhele, New Brighton and Zwide residents, determined to take back their streets, are now leaning on surrounding communities for a citywide shutdown.
They vowed to shut down schools, health facilities and other public services on Monday as part of a march against crime, to make their voices heard.
Residents in high-crime areas such as Walmer, Motherwell and Kariega will be contacted throughout the week to join the shutdown.
Addressing about 300 residents, deputy mayor Babalwa Lobishe said police had committed to conduct daily stop-and-search patrols in the townships.
“The soldiers we requested will find us while protecting the streets of our city.”
Lobishe said she supported the march and would ensure provincial police commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene would receive a petition from residents.
“However, I don’t believe it is wise to close schools and health facilities because there are people who require their chronic medication.
“Closing such facilities will trample on their right to health.”
Lobishe said the key to getting soldiers deployed was not writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa, but a petition with as many signatures as possible.
Community activist Pamela Mabini said firearms that exchanged hands among criminals in townships came from Korsten.
“Even items robbed from people and shops are sold in Korsten.”
Mabini said that when the government addressed crime, it should not overlook that poverty and unemployment were key drivers, fuelling substance abuse and contributing to the rise in criminal activity.
Workers at the Kwazakhele Clinic, which was closed this week by the health department after an alleged extortion threat, said all clinics needed to be closed before the government took them seriously.
Kwazakhele’s Ben Nyathi Primary School has been temporarily closed for the same reasons.
“After our clinic closed, we were deployed to another facility where the staff there are also scared of extortion and getting robbed,” a woman who works at the Kwazakhele Clinic said.
“Shutting down one clinic won’t solve the problem.
“That is why every clinic, school and workplace needs to join the march.
“We need to shut this entire city down until the government brings in soldiers, just like they did during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Ward 19 councillor Gamalihleli Maqula said the extent of the violence had surpassed crimes committed during apartheid.
“We have never had a situation where medical professionals are extorted for money.”
Maqula said five contractors working on housing projects had left sites due to fear and extortion threats.
“This is why we can’t sit and do nothing.”
In a statement, Ncata called on staff at the school and clinic to reopen.
He said no intelligence report indicated any threats or crimes reported at the school and clinic.
He urged residents to refrain from spreading false information.
Apart from awareness campaigns, he said the Bay had received more officers from various units across the province.
“Police will do everything in their power to ensure that the much-needed services are not affected, and simultaneously fight violent and serious crimes in hotspot areas.”
Extortion or protection fee whistle-blowers and victims can phone or WhatsApp 082-387-1561. — Additional reporting by the Daily Dispatch
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