This is a timeline of Sowetan's attempts to get answers from police on activities of criminal Mamelodi group Boko Haram, including the recent spate of killings which have seen bodies piling up in the past three months.
After police arrested four people linked to Boko Haram in early March, Sowetan requested to interview the provincial police management about activities of the group in the township.
March 23 – Sowetan requested an interview with the provincial police commissioner to address the issues of lawlessness in Mamelodi linked to Boko Haram.
Police at the time had just indicated that they are looking into cases against Boko Haram, some dating back as far as three years ago that were withdrawn by the victims apparently due to fears.
The police's communications department said Mawela was on leave until April 6. It was then suggested that a Tshwane district commissioner would be made available but that never happened.
April 14 – Sowetan sent a media query to Gauteng police about Boko Haram's criminal activities in Mamelodi after three foreign nationals told Sowetan they were still being forced to pay R500 "protection fees" to the group every month.
Questions were on among others about police being aware of the Boko Haram extortion ring and what's being done to stop it.
Police said a team of investigators had visited the township and "had a meeting with all shop owners and advised them not to give money" to Boko Haram members.
"They also gave them cellphone numbers if such demands are made. They are constantly engaging with them on the matter," police said at the time.
August 4 – Sowetan sent a query to police after a construction project was stopped in Silverton by people from Mamelodi who demanded a 30% stake in it. Another request to speak to the Tshwane district commissioner was made.
Police said the district commissioner had since resigned and the replacement was still new on the job and needed to familiarise with the cases.
Police said they were ware of a few cases where projects get hijacked or money being extorted in Tshwane and the existence of other groups besides just Boko Haram.
August 31 – Sowetan enquired from police about two Boko Haram members killed at Santorini Club in Mamelodi.
Police said no arrests have been made and that they attended to a shooting incident and when managing the crime scene where two bodies were found and arranging paramedics they were shot at by gunmen suspected to be carrying R5 and AK47 automatic weapons. Police then ran for cover, police said.
"The police officers were not injured in the attack and they were referred for counselling," police said.
September 14 – Sowetan sent a query about an incident in which a Boko Haram member was gunned down in Silverton on September 13. Police said no arrests have been made and that a man was found with bullet wounds inside a car.
September 26 – Sowetan sent a query about a shooting that occurred at a hostel in Mamelodi where a person died and others suffered injuries. Police confirmed the incident and said no arrests have been made.
October 4 – Questions were sent about an incident in Silverton where a Boko Haram member was shot and killed on October 2. Police confirmed the incident and said they were investigating if it was linked to the Silverton drive-by shooting incident.
October 11 – Sowetan enquired about two killings in Mamelodi believed to be linked to Boko Haram on October 10 and October 11 in the morning. Police confirmed one incident of October 10 and said that no arrests have been made. A woman needed hospitalisation after she was also shot.
October 18 – A request was sent to provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela for an interview with questions that Sowetan would like answered, including on the progress made since the police task team was appointed to look into the Boko Haram activities.
Other questions sent to Mawela via e-mail and WhatsApp included how many cases is the task team actually investigating and what are they exactly related to and what practical steps and crime prevention efforts have been extended to Mamelodi in the past few years to deal with this problems caused by the group's activities.
Brig Brenda Muridili responded to questions sent to Mawela saying police are aware of the recent murders.
"The Mamelodi police station also has a prevention and combating team established in the beginning of this month that patrols and monitors areas that have been declared as hot spots," Muridili said.
She refused to respond on questions about the number of people killed since the killings started and on how many arrests have been made.
Muridili said: "We are not at liberty to provide you with statistics... if you have a specific incident that you would like us to confirm, we would gladly do so however we cannot respond to generalisations of murders committed in Mamelodi. We need specifics from you to enable us to assist."
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