Little to no action to stop deadly mass shootings in townships – NGO
|Published
Nyanga and Khayelitsha residents were left reeling at the weekend following two more mass shootings that claimed the lives of eight people.
Four people were killed in Nyanga on Sunday after suspects opened fire at a hostel. Just the day before, a shooting claimed the lives of four people, including three children, at a local barbershop in Khayelitsha. Three others were hospitalised.
In relation to the Nyanga incident, police spokesperson Andrè Traut said: “Provincial Serious and Violent Crime detectives are pursuing leads in the quest to apprehend the suspects who shot and killed two men aged 32 and 38 and two females aged 22 and 25 in Nyanga yesterday (Sunday) afternoon at around 1.40pm. According to reports, unknown suspects opened fire at the victims at the Nyanga Hostels in Bush Street and fled the scene.”
The motives for both incidents were yet to be determined.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile visited the crime scene in Khayelitsha on Monday and met with grieving family, friends and community members.
Khayelitsha CPF’s Monde Bambelo said: “We also had a prayer session.
“The community is very shaken. This incident has triggered something. What they want to do now is be part of the solution, they want to assist SAPS and they want the perpetrators to be arrested. They are saying we must have community meetings where we lobby them so we can prevent these types of crimes.”
He said a memorial service will be held at the scene on Thursday, where the road will be closed off at the request of the families.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill- Lewis condemned the shootings.
“I extend the City’s deepest condolences to all the families of the children who were killed. This brazen and ruthless mass shooting was well-organised, well-armed and undertaken by criminals who at this stage, do not fear the police. This situation must change by ensuring arrests and convictions. I call on the SAPS to spare no resource in making arrests. There simply must be valuable information within the community on how to trace and ensure justice for the young lives lost so tragically,” he said.
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said the third quarter crime statistics, covering the reporting period of October until December 2023, indicate that five townships on the Cape Flats – Mfuleni, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Delft and Harare – are among the top 30 police stations in the country with the highest number of murders recorded.
“This paints a dismal picture, as there has been little to no effective action taken to address the scourge of violence in these townships.
“Cape Town is one of the world’s most unequal societies, often described as ‘a tale of two cities’.
On one side, it is an affluent global city; on the other, it is a city defined by unemployment, poverty, crime, and violence.
“This disparity is exacerbated by the government’s failure to adequately address the crime situation in the Cape Flats communities.”
Anyone with information on the incidents can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 0860010111, or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times