Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola. File Photo: SAPS
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said a car that was used by the suspects during the brutal murders of 18 people in Lusikisiki has been recovered.
Speaking during a media briefing held in Parliament on Thursday.
This comes after Siphosoxolo Myekethe, 45, was arrested in connection with the murders.
Myekethe was out on parole for the murder of a police officer committed during a robbery in 2000.
Following his arrest and appearance in court, police arrested three more suspects in Port Shepstone and East London on Wednesday.
They are aged 22, 24 and 31.
Masemola said they were looking for one more suspect and are also searching for firearms used during the crime.
He added that the men have been positively linked to the crime.
“We can’t disclose how we linked them it will come out in court as to how we linked them. What I can give you is that the vehicle we confiscated was at the crime scene,” he said.
Masemola said the motive for the murders is still unknown and they are hoping it will be revealed during investigations.
The three suspects are expected to appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who also spoke during the briefing, said there was a high probability the planning of the Lusikisiki massacre was orchestrated inside prison.
Mchunu said they were still unsure of the information as it needed to be supported by concrete evidence.
“There is a story like that but up until its confirmed then it will be a fact,” he said.
For the fact that one of the suspects is a parolee, Mchunu said it means they pose a threat to society when they are released and there’s a need for government to review the parole system
“These people get arrested and they are sent to prison, but when they are inside, they are able to continue coordinating crimes.”
He said they agreed together with Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald that they have to introduce new mechanisms in tracking people who still commit crime behind prison.
‘’There must be ways that will make people in prison know that they are in prison because they still have access to phones, and get access to other individuals and the liaise with...I think it’s a phenomenon that can be stopped by efforts from the correctional service,“ he added.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News
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