Shots fired at Cachalia's home

2007-03-30 14:45

Johannesburg - Security guards shot at two men outside Gauteng's safety MEC Firoz Cachalia's Emmarentia home on Friday morning, said police.

Sergeant Sanku Tsunke said the men, who were not wearing masks, were seen approaching Cachalia's front gate by members the South African Police Services special unit.

"One man was carrying a firearm," said Tsunke.

When the men saw the police, they fled.

Shots were then fired by police in the direction of the men.

Tsunke said the alleged robbers did not return fire.

No one was injured.

One of the men ran away and another climbed into a car and drove away.

The MEC and his wife were at home at the time of the shooting.

Police were investigating a case of attempted armed robbery.

On February 23, Cachalia and his wife, Nazira, were accosted by armed men while they were walking in the park at Emmarentia dam. They were not injured, but were robbed of personal belongings.

'What if he were ordinary?'

The Democratic Alliance said in a statement on Friday that the attack on Cachalia's home underlined the seriousness of Gauteng's crime problem.

"This is the second time this year that the safety of the MEC has been under threat from criminals," said John Moodley, DA provincial spokesperson for safety.

"The question that must be raised though, is what if he had been an ordinary citizen without state funded bodyguards?

"He and his family would have been robbed and perhaps harmed."

Moodley said the DA welcomed the upcoming launch of a new anti-crime initiative, but said it would be impossible to efficiently tackle crime until the police and metro police forces began to operate properly.

Cachalia and Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa attended the launch of the province's safety strategy in Kliptown on Friday.

- SAPA