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Police Minister Bheki Cele has given police 24 more hours to make an arrest in the Bityi massacre where three gunmen mowed down a family of seven last week.
Cele descended on the village on Tuesday with the Deputy Minister of State Security, Zizi Kodwa, and the MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Xolile Nqatha.
According to police reports, unknown men forced their way into the homestead and opened fire on mourners who were preparing the burial of a relative who was fatally shot the week before.
Last week, Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the Acting Provincial Police Commissioner, Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso, had directed that a team be assigned to investigate the gruesome incident.
She says six people died on the scene, while the seventh victim succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Colonel Naidu says the investigation has since been taken over by the Provincial Organised Crime Unit.
The victims were all family members aged between 29 and 68 and were preparing for the funeral of their relative, 62-year-old Novotile Mgxada, who was killed two weeks ago.
Addressing the media after engaging the family, Minister Cele said that an Imbizo would be held within three weeks to address the rampant crime in the area.
“We concede that there are few problems that we need to work on, a shortage of resources from our side," he said.
Speaking on the status of the investigation Cele said there are no arrests made yet.
“The story is that we know [the perpetrators], but that should not be the story. The story is that they should be in court like the other [criminals].
“We are giving the police an extra 24 hours to work on [that],” Cele added.
