Muldersdrift murders out of control

Police hunt for murderous Muldersdrift gang

FILE PICTURE: A 50-year-old man was shot three times at his Muldersdrift home on 13 September, 2012. Picture: Alex Eliseev/EWN. Mbali Sibanyoni | 2 hours ago MULDERSDRIFT - The hunt continues for an armed gang following yet another murder in Muldersdrift on the West Rand. A 55-year-old man was shot dead on Saturday night by unknown men as he stepped outside the house to visit his neighbour and check up on why his dogs were barking incessantly. The Muldersdrift area has recently seen a rise in violent crimes. Police’s Katlego Mogale said, “It is unknown what the motive was as the suspect did not take anything.” Last week a man was shot dead after walking into his home to find three men robbing his home and holding his wife at gunpoint. The incident took place as Gauteng police commissioner Mzwandile Petros met with community members to discuss ways on how to make the community safer. In the past, a 13-year-old girl was also killed during a house robbery while her father and younger sister were wounded. In that incident the robbers managed to steal two cellphones and an empty wallet. (Edited by Katleho Mogase) EWN Eyewitness News | 27 December 2012 JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng police have launched a manhunt for another suspect wanted in connection with crimes committed in Muldersdrift on the West Rand this year. Three suspects were arrested last week Thursday, after the police's tracing unit tracked a credit card stolen in a housebreaking to Diepsloot. A withdrawal of more than R9,000 was processed at a pub in the area. The trio have been linked to crimes including houserobbery, kidnapping and theft. It is the group swooped on a Muldersdrift family when they arrived at their residence on the evening of 17 December. The suspects allegedly held the family at gunpoint and stole several goods including a plasma television, laptops, cellphones and cash, said police. The family vehicle was also stolen and later found abandoned in Diepsloot. One of the victims was kidnapped and later released at a spot in Midrand. A fourth suspect is still at large. Police say the arrest of another suspect wanted in connection with violent crimes in Muldersdrift is imminent. Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said the three arrests were a major breakthrough in the case. He says police are confident the arrest will conclude the investigations into the crimes. A duo was also on Friday at the Muldersdrift informal settlement and have been linked to the eight incident of violent crimes. Police have since linked them to crimes committed between July and December 2012. In the most recent crime they've been linked to, two men from the Mageregere informal settlement were robbed and shot at before the suspects allegedly fled with their cash. One died at the scene, while another remains in a critical condition at hospital. The two are accused of other housebreaking and business robberies. In most of the crimes, victims were shot at before being robbed. The pair will appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. It is believed they worked with two others who are still at large. Muldersdrift man murdered in front of wife 2013-01-25 09:27 Related Links Muldersdrift gangsters in court Muldersdrift farmworkers shot execution-style Man kidnapped from Muldersdrift plot Johannesburg - A Muldersdrift man was shot dead during an attempted robbery at his home, West Rand police said on Friday. The man walked into his house to find three men holding his wife at gunpoint on Thursday, said Inspector Solomon Sibiya. "According to the wife, there was a struggle for the gun and one of the robbers was shot with their own firearm.... Her husband was then shot twice in the chest." He later died. The woman was unharmed. The robbers fled. "When we got to there, we found the gun which was used in the shooting, a crowbar and a flat screen TV that the robbers were trying to take," said Sibiya. Beeld newspaper reported that the robbery occurred while Gauteng police commissioner Mzwandile Petros was addressing Muldersdrift residents about crime in the area. Muldersdrift has been hit by a string of killings, house and business robberies since July. According to The Star, one street in particular had been targeted, with 93% of households hit in Clinic Road. - SAPA Gauteng MEC for Economic development Nkosiphendule Kolisile and MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to visit Muldersdrift 3 Dec 2012 Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Nkosiphendule Kolisile and the MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko will visit Muldersdrift on Friday, 14 December 2012. Muldersdrift has been a scene of violent crime, robberies and murders in the recent past. The area is located in proximity to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and the surrounding tourism catchment area. There are thousands of jobs that stem directly and indirectly from tourism and leisure in this area and its surroundings. The MECs will hold meetings with tourism businesses, community leaders, representatives from Mogale City, the Tourism Safety Initiative, community leaders and the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA). MEC Kolisile and MEC Mazibuko will also visit the community and the families that have recently lost their loves ones as a result of violent crime in the area. The media will also be briefed about the initiatives taken by the Department of Community Safety, Economic Development and the Gauteng Tourism Authority to stem the tide of crime in area. The details of the visit are as follows: Date: Friday, 14 December 2012 Time: 9h00 - 11h30 Venue: Kloofzicht Lodge, Kromdraai Road, Muldersdrift. For more details and media enquiries please: Phindile Kunene (Economic Development) Cell: 082 494 2409 Tel: 011 085 2538 Email: Phindile.Kunene@gauteng.gov.za Thapelo Moiloa (Community Safety) Cell: 084 805 2247 Email: Thapelo.Moiloa@gauteng.gov.za Issued by: Gauteng Community Safety 3 Dec 2012 2 in court over Muldersdrift murders 2012-09-17 19:36 Related Links 3 arrested after Muldersdrift shoot-out Teen holds dying sister after robbery Johannesburg - Two men accused of killing a Muldersdrift man during a robbery appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court on Monday, police said. Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale said the two would be back in court on 1 October. They remained in custody. She said a third man was in hospital and would appear as soon as he was discharged. The men were arrested on Friday. They allegedly robbed and wounded the 50-year-old man on Thursday evening. Police said the man was with other people outside his home when a barking dog alerted them to a group of men carrying firearms. The robbers entered the house and shot the man seven times. He died in hospital on Saturday. While police were investigating this robbery, they heard reports of a second attack - in the early hours of Friday morning - in which a television set was stolen. Police chased a group of men to a field near the N14 Swartkop off-ramp, where a shoot-out ensued. One of the men was wounded, another ran away, and two others were arrested. Mogale said the men faced charges of armed robbery and murder, and that police were investigating whether they were part of a gang which killed a 13-year-old girl and wounded her 17-year-old sister and her father in a robbery in the same area two weeks ago. Police arrested five men in connection with the robbery, but all of them were released because there was not enough evidence against them. One of the men had a memory card belonging to one of the girls. SAPA Muldersdrift under siege from criminals - Kate Lorimer Kate Lorimer 11 September 2012 DA MPL says 93% of households on a single street victims of crime Community under Siege: DA wants answers from police The ongoing reports of rampant violent crime in Muldersdrift are disturbing. Alyssa Botha, 13, was shot dead last Wednesday. She was the latest victim in a wave of violent crime, in which 93 percent of households on a single street in the community have been targeted. Alyssa's father Anton was also shot in the abdomen and her sister Meghan in the leg. I will visit the police station in Muldersdrift to assess the response by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the area. I will also evaluate the local visible policing strategy and investigate whether the local police are properly equipped, especially in terms of the number of appropriate vehicles allocated to the area. I will also request information on the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the engagement between the forum and the local SAPS. All information will be shared with Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros and I will request that he address the safety and security needs of the Muldersdrift community as a matter of urgency. The war on crime in Gauteng must not merely be confined to the major urban centres of the province while those on the outskirts are forgotten and neglected. Statement issued by Kate Lorimer MPL, DA Gauteng Community Safety Spokesperson, September 11 2012 Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter Politicsweb - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - - - With all these murders and arrests why has the SAPS not been able to solve the ongoing violent crimes in Muldersdrift? What is happening to all the criminals appearing in court and then disappearing into thin air and a void Abbas. The public is beginning to think that these crimes are motivated by racism hate more than just random criminal acts. General Petros' visit to the area did nothing to reassure the residents there. Is a mythical Lion killing off our population in Muldersdrift? Should the army be called in to patrol the area?