Systemic failures in gun control exposed

MASS SHOOTING

- SIPHESIHLE BUTHELEZI [e-mail]

THE mass shooting that claimed the lives of eight people in the Zama informal settlement in uMlazi on Friday night has reignited urgent calls to address the unchecked proliferation of firearms and the systemic failures that enable gun violence to flourish in KwaZulu-Natal.

KZN Premier Thamsanga Ntuli, who visited the crime scene at a house in U section alongside Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Phumelele Makoba on Saturday, described the killings as "barbaric and inhumane."

He called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.

"No society can function under the threat of such brutal violence. We must work together — community, government and police — to reclaim our communities from criminals," Ntuli said, announcing plans to install Apollo lights and surveillance cameras in high-risk areas as part of crime deterrence efforts.

The South African Police Service confirmed that eight victims, six men and two women between the ages of 22 and 40, were gunned down inside a home. The suspects remain unknown, and a manhunt is underway.