Farm murderer escapes; Negligence by the SAPS points to involvement – AfriForum
AfriForum issued a warning to the Belfast rural community after an alleged farm murderer, Petros Mamaru (24), also known as Piet, escaped from the Belfast police holding cells the past weekend. Piet, together with two other criminals, escaped from the cells between 17:00 and 17:40 on Saturday, 4 October by cutting a hole in the roof.
Piet hit a farm worker with a bottle, stabbed him and then allegedly killed him with a stone on the farm Elandskloof between Dullstroom and Belfast on Saturday, 30 August 2014. The police showed up only four hours after the murder. On Sunday, 31 August Piet was again seen by farm workers outside the farm and the police was informed immediately. The officer in charge allegedly said that he was too scared to react and that he would only start looking for the suspect on Monday, 1 September. It took approximately 14 days to make an arrest.
“This kind of red tape shows the total incompetence and possibly even involvement of the members of the South African Police Service in crime. No-one can escape by cutting a hole in the roof without having access to the necessary tools,” said Ian Cameron, Head of Community Safety at AfriForum.
According to Cameron, Mamaru is also wanted for a murder that took place in 2012.
“Communities must protect themselves as Government is not competent enough, or does not have the will, to protect communities,” concluded Cameron.