The national commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, visited Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Sunday to give an update on police efforts to combat crime in the region.
The visit follows a string of events in the town that included the recent deadly shootout and the closing of a school.
In the Mthatha West region, at least four schools experienced acts of intimidation and extortion.
There are claims that a group went to the administration of Laphumikwezi Primary School and asked for money to be transferred to them. As a result, the school has been closed.
Self-proclaimed leader Sakhumzi Dalinzolo Mareke was also shot and murdered by police last week.
He is accused of leading a gang of individuals who followed SAPS National Intervention Unit (NIU) officers back to their base, where a shootout broke out.
One of the perpetrators who fled the scene has now been captured by Mthatha police. Two other people, including a policeman, were also injured during the incident.
According to the House of Abathembu, led by King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, Mareke was never a chief or a traditional leader in the Mthatha West region.
A plan for integrating resources between provincial and municipal government to combat crime will be implemented, according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Speaking to the National Assembly (NA) last week, Mchunu stated that 73% of all crimes in South Africa currently occur in the provinces of Gauteng, KZN, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape.
The severity of these crimes alone, including extortions, were deemed a cause for grave concern.
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