Attack on MPs exposes disparity in Saps response

THE brazen attack on three DA MPs in Philippi and the swift arrests that followed have laid bare a harsh truth for many poor residents living daily under the shadow of fear on the Cape Flats and townships; that SAPS can act quickly when it chooses to.

Ian Cameron, Lisa Schickerling and Nicholas Gotsell were returning from an oversight to the police training college in Philippi, when they came under attack from three assailants. Cameron and Gotsell sustained injuries while Schickerling escaped with no injuries.

Hours later, the first suspect, an 18-year-old, was arrested on Tuesday evening. Police worked through the night and in the early hours of Wednesday morning effecting the arrest of a second suspect, a 16-year-old who was arrested in Browns Farm, police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said. 

The arrests came after national police commissioner Fannie Masemola issued an “urgent directive to the Western Cape Provincial Commissioner to deploy; the Provincial Serious Violent Crime (SVC) investigators to work around the clock in tracking down and apprehending the suspects.”  

Philippi, notorious for hijackings and smash and grab attacks, is a no-go area not only for e-hailing drivers but also for delivery companies. City officials have had to rely on metro and law enforcement officials to escort them when entering the area fearing for their lives after being threatened by extortionists who demand a ‘protection fee’ for them to perform their duties. 

Reacting to Tuesday’s incident, the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) said Philippi residents had become used to crime in the area, with little to no urgent interventions from the police. 

The organisation expressed frustration at how this case was now being prioritised simply because of the “political status of those involved”. 

“The recent attack on DA MPs in Philippi, while deeply concerning, highlights a long-standing and painful truth about South Africa’s response to violent crime: the lives of ordinary people in poor communities are often treated as less valuable. For more than a decade, organisations like the Social Justice Coalition have been calling for increased police resources in areas like Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Delft, and Philippi-  places that have become synonymous with daily violence, hijackings, and murders. These calls have largely fallen on deaf ears, despite the trauma residents endure every single day.

“The fact that high ranking officials were targeted has suddenly triggered urgency from SAPS and the media, while countless similar or worse crimes committed against ordinary citizens go ignored. This selective attention reveals a deeply unequal justice system, where the rich, powerful, or politically-connected are more likely to see swift investigations, while the rest are left to suffer in silence. This cannot continue. Every life should be treated with the same dignity and urgency, regardless of who they are or where they live. The safety of our communities should not be reactive, triggered only when VIPs are affected,” the organisation said.

Philippi councillor, Bennet Payiya said smash and grabs were a daily reality for residents. “Maybe now that MPs were attacked, the government will take the problem more seriously because it affected them personally”.

“We are facing gunshots, robbery, hijacking, smash and grabs. These are things we are living with. We feel that now it happened to government officials, and they were able to arrest the people so quickly, means they are neglecting the community. If they can arrest the criminals so quickly now, why don’t they continue to do the same thing when these incidents are happening?” he asked. 

Gugulethu councillor Bongani Ngcombolo, who believes he may have been the target of the gunmen responsible for the killing of a ward committee member last week, said: “This situation is exposing how our ordinary residents are living. Hence that it happened to authorities. It's them who are in charge, they are supposed to take the decisions and deal with crime radically. It’s a bad situation but it exposes how ordinary citizens are living daily. Our communities are living with fear, intimidated because criminals are shooting people. When it comes to prosecuting those individuals, the justice (system) or the police, they are not doing their work because those criminals are still walking in those areas.” 

In an open Letter to the Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile, Masemola and Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, activist Grant Pascoe lamented how within hours suspects were arrested.

“But when ordinary people are the victims of gang shootings, hijackings and smash and grabs, there is no urgency, no justice and no protection. Commissioner of the Western Cape, this is a failure of leadership under your watch. The Cape Flats is a war zone where gangs openly control streets, extortion syndicates bleed small businesses, and children are caught in crossfire. Yet SAPS has no real prevention plan, no consistent visible policing and no disruption of gang structures. Communities are left abandoned.

"National Commissioner and Minister, the responsibility does not stop at the provincial level. The crisis of gang violence and lawlessness in the Western Cape is the direct result of national neglect. Resources are not allocated where they are most needed. Specialist units are not deployed in a sustained way. Policing on the Cape Flats remains reactive, politicised and weak,” he said. 

Cachalia’s office confirmed receipt of the letter, saying it will be presented to the Minister in due course. Police did not respond to requests for comment on the letter. 

Cape Times