Gangsterism, alcohol consumption, access to illegal firearms, and failure to enforce relevant laws contribute to tavern killings, according to experts.
These observations were made after nine people were shot dead and 10 injured in a tavern shooting on Saturday in Bekkersdal on the West Rand.
This is the second tavern shooting this month. Previously, 12 people were fatally shot in Saulsville township near Atteridgeville, Tshwane.
The council responded by closing down several illegal taverns.
Turf wars
Rural criminologist Witness Maluleke said turf wars are now common in taverns in SA.
“It is clear that the motives of the tavern shootings are beyond criminality, but organised acts to scare tavern owners and patrons.
“It is well-organised, as drugs are involved. This is becoming a common modus operandi and the local police are finding it hard to curtail. Patrons are no longer safe. Drinking at taverns can be dangerous nowadays,” he said.
Tavern owners should act swiftly against this practice, Maluleke said.
“They know the root causes. Without their interventions, this will continue to hurt us, and those who drink at taverns are the next victims. They should be cautious.”
Criminal law expert Cornelia van Graan said the country is in a crisis and young people are turning to gangs and other activities to make something of themselves.
“The effort and coordination between departments show that the police are taking the incident seriously.
“However, more should be done to focus on the prevention of these types of incidents. It is time that focus is placed on prevention, rather than cure. This includes stricter enforcement of gun laws,” said van Graan.
Hotspots known
Chad Thomas, an organised crime investigator at IRS Forensic Investigations, said there was an uptick in violence over the festive season as people were socialising and drinking more than normally.
“But we have seen increased violence at taverns throughout the year resulting from disputes, turf wars and vendettas.
“Local policing knows where the hotspots are in townships, informal settlements and inner-city areas.
“They must patrol more often and increase the number of disruptive raids on these premises to check for underage drinkers, liquor licences and weapons,” he said.
Thomas, however, said South Africa doesn’t just have a crime issue, but a societal issue that needs to be addressed and the root cause of violence rectified.
Willem Els, an expert from the Institute for Security Studies, said most mass shootings occurred in or around illegal and legal taverns, where “lots of liquor is consumed, especially over this period”.
“If the gangs go and unwind at a tavern and, if a rival gang wants to take revenge, they know where to find them.”
Safety an owners responsibility
Claire Taylor, a research and policy analyst at Gun Free South Africa, said her organisation’s statistics show that there were 80 mass shootings in the country last year in which four or more people were killed.
“Mass shootings are a major part of South Africa’s gun violence crisis. Between April and September this year, 1 091 of the 5 042 people were shot dead in multiple-victim incidents – that’s 22% of all firearm murders.
“The fundamental problem is the easy availability of firearms. We need to drastically reduce the availability of firearms and that requires a comprehensive strategy that the government is not implementing.
“After the Saulsville shooting, the government’s response focused almost exclusively on closing illegal taverns. This is important,” Taylor said.
National Liquor Traders Council spokesperson Lucky Ntimane said: “The safety of our patrons is a cornerstone of our responsibility as liquor traders. It is our duty to ensure that every customer can enjoy themselves in a safe environment, free from fear of harm”.
“We call on law enforcement to act swiftly in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” said Ntimane.
Specialist investigator Mike Bolhuis said: “We don’t know what is the cause of this attack, but we know that there are many crimes at taverns.
“People are raped, some robbed, so you may find that the relatives of the victims can come and kill people,” Bolhuis concluded.
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