Ramaphosa confident police can solve Lusikisiki mass murder, appeals to community for info

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed to residents of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, where 18 people were killed at the weekend, to give information to a special investigation team tasked to find the gunmen behind the massacre.

The mass shooting happened in the early hours of Saturday in Ngobozana village and claimed the lives of family and friends who had been preparing for a ceremony.

The attack happened in homesteads on the same street. In one house 13 people were killed, 12 women and one man. In another homestead four people were killed. The 18th victim died in hospital. 

Ramaphosa offered condolences to the survivors and assured the families of the deceased the police have mobilised resources to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book. 

“I feel deeply for the families and members of the community affected by this attack and on behalf of all South Africans I offer our deepest sympathies. While we are united in grief, we are also united in outrage and condemnation of this criminal assault which will not go unpunished,” he said.

Police minister Senzo Mchunu said at the weekend SAPS set up a team of detectives and forensic science experts to help solve the case.

Ramaphosa was adamant the police were up to the job to find the gunmen. 

“The SAPS has proven its effectiveness in dealing with random and organised crime and I am confident the Lusikisiki case will be added to the successes recorded recently by our police service,” he said.

“Community members should therefore feel free to provide investigators with information that can help police apprehend the attackers and prepare a watertight case for our courts to process. We will not allow criminals to prevail.”

Recent mass shootings have dominated headlines. Last January, 18 people were killed in the Eastern Cape in two mass shootings. This followed 16 killed in a tavern in Soweto in July 2022. 

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