The year 2024 gave rise to a new phrase in KwaZulu-Natal, sizobiza ezikaMkhwanazi!
The phrase, meaning we will call Mkhwanazi’s guys, has become a mantra in the streets of the province.
Communities are praising the no-nonsense approach and the hardline tactics that provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and his charges have employed against criminals running amok.
Since Mkhwanazi took over the reins as the top cop, the province has seen a number of suspects die in gunbattles with the police.
Last week alone, eight suspects were mowed down by police in Richards Bay, on the north coast.
According to the police, the suspects were intercepted while on their way to commit an armed robbery.
The police said when the suspects were approached and instructed to stop, they opened fire and police retaliated. All the suspects were shot dead.
Mkhwanazi revealed in April that police had shot and killed just over 40 suspects since the beginning of the year. The number has since risen to more than 120 casualties by this month.
Lungelo Mdluli, an anti-crime activist and chairman of Inanda Safer Communities, a crime-fighting organisation, explained that instilling fear in criminals was the only way to win the war against crime.
“For the first time, ordinary citizens have trust in the police, which was not the case before. For instance, the tactic of instilling fear in criminals has drastically reduced crime in Inanda.
Criminals now fear being killed. This is the only way to win the war against brazen criminals who do not hesitate to kill.”
The assertion by Mdluli comes hot on the heels of the recent crime statistics released by the police for the second quarter of 2024, solidifying Inanda, a township south of Durban, as the country’s murder capital.
It also tops the country as the rape capital, alongside Umlazi, the fourth largest township in South Africa.
Overall, KwaZulu-Natal recorded a slight reduction in murders from 1 603 in the second quarter of 2023 to 1 428 for the corresponding period this year.
Zane Mathews, a community activist in Wentworth, a crime hotspot with sporadic drug turf wars, warned against celebrating yet.
“We are starting to see some reasonable progress since the new commissioner took over. He has shown that he is a man on a mission and has zero tolerance for criminals. Criminals are terrified at his sight.”
He said police intelligence had to be bolstered on the ground. “We must also capacitate community policing forums,” he said.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu revealed in October in a parliamentary reply that an average of nine suspects a month were killed by police in KZN between July 2023 and July 2024.
The province has also registered the highest number of killings as a result of police action.
According to stats from the police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said 108 suspects were killed by SAPS in KZN in 2023. A total of 364 such deaths were recorded nationwide.
Meanwhile, respected crime expert Mary De Haas cautioned against the police’s actions, saying crime can only be eradicated when unlicensed firearms are removed from the wrong hands.
“I’ve always said that the high levels of crime, especially in KZN, are driven by poor police intelligence. Police should remove illegal guns and also launch a programme to find, trace and establish where the guns came from.
“Police should not be encouraged to resort to operating as a hit squad. We have many incidents where police have killed innocent civilians,” said De Haas.
Doctor Sazelo Mkhize, a senior lecturer in the discipline of criminology and forensic studies attached to the University of KwaZulu-Natal, argued crime would only be defeated through intensifying street patrols.
“More police should be deployed to underserviced areas, such as the townships, to fight crime. Private security companies should also be brought on board.
“Government must also ensure that police stations are supplied with adequate vehicles and other necessary technology to fight crime,” said Mkhize.
