DA calls for urgent intervention as Glebelands Hostel death toll rises to 98

7 August 2017

The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal is deeply concerned by the upsurge in violence and deaths at the Glebelands Hostel with yet another person shot earlier today. This brings the total number of people killed in the past three weeks to six, while a total of 98 hostel residents have lost their lives since 2014.

The situation at Glebelands cannot be allowed to become any worse than it already is. The DA will today write to the Chairperson of the province’s Community Safety and Liaison portfolio committee to request the following;

- An urgent portfolio committee meeting in order for SAPS to report back on their current actions at Glebelands;

- An increased policing presence at the hostel which must include more National Intervention Unit personnel; and

- Increased patrols with more raids for illegal firearms within the hostel.

It is alarming that this increase in deaths is taking place against the backdrop of the Moerane Commission’s hearings into the reasons behind the killings.  It is also increasingly clear that the residents of Glebelands Hostel are being let down by the very people who are supposed to protect them.

During the Commission’s recent visit to the hostel, residents voiced a lack of confidence in the local Umlazi police station, with allegations varying from police involvement in the spiralling crime to a lack of interest and patrols. They also claim that despite promises from the SAPS, the satellite police station within the hostel is still not in place.

The residents of Glebelands Hostel deserve to live in a safe and productive environment. It is the responsibility of the eThekwini Municipality, SAPS and the KZN Government to ensure this. The DA is committed to holding them to account.

It is also the role of political parties in KZN, in particular the ANC, to come out against these alleged inter-faction killings in order for them to end.

Issued by Rishigen Viranna, DA KZN Spokesperson on Community Safety and Liaison, 7 August 2017