Police boost resources in Soshanguve while family mourns death of Ditebogo Phalane Jr (5)

CAPE TOWN & JOHANNESBURG - Police Minister Bheki Cele says there's no doubt that the two suspects arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a five-year-old boy in Soshanguve are directly linked to the crime.

Police handcuffed the two men this week after Ditebogo Junior Phalane was shot while his father was being hijacked outside their home last Friday.

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Cele was speaking at the opening event of the Makhaza Police Station in the Western Cape.

"We worked with the provincial commissioner [Tommy Mthombeni] and his team, and we thought it would be good to put some resources working with that. It does look like we have had [a] better outcome of those two people that have been arrested."

In addition to the arrests, two firearms were recovered by police, with a manhunt still underway for more suspects.

One of the recovered firearms had been identified as a weapon that was used during a separate hijacking in Akasia in 2022.

Phalane will be laid to rest on Friday.

CURBING SOSHANGUVE CRIME

Various specialised police units have been deployed to Soshanguve and other areas north of Pretoria to deal with the escalating crime.

Areas such as Soshanguve and Winterveld have come under sharp focus in recent weeks following a series of killings.

On Thursday, South African Police Service top brass visited the crime-ridden area of Jukulyn in Soshanguve to address the community.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola reassured the community that more boots on the ground were imminent.

“We’re reinforcing what we have, which was already here, to get rid of the criminals who are terrorising the community here.”

Police said additional personnel from Public Order Police, Tactical Response Teams, Crime Intelligence, Highway Patrol, Visible Policing, and the Tshwane Metro Police Department would be deployed to the area.

But family spokesperson Gift Makoti said it was disheartening that an innocent child had to be killed for action to be taken.

“It’s sad that an incident like this had to happen for police to be motivated.”