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Five people were shot and killed in Cape Town on Friday night.
Five people were shot and killed in Cape Town on Friday night. This follows the shooting earlier in the week of six people in Kraaifontein and three more who were torched the day after in a suspected case of vigilante killings.
The latest incidents happened in Steenberg, where the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a man and a woman are under investigation.
At Happy Valley in Mfuleni on the Cape Flats, three men were killed in what the SAPS says is suspected to be a gang-related shooting.
Mfuleni ranks among the most dangerous police precincts in the Western Cape. However, in Happy Valley, which falls under Mfuleni, community members are shocked following the shooting of three men.
Local authorities say the area had not seen this type of violence in years.
The CPF laments the lack of resources, saying the SAPS is overwhelmed with the large area it has to cover.
Chairperson of Mfuleni CPF France Mashaba says, “Without resources, more policing, we can suffer, the community get it suffer. We need more. Because all the areas we go to more than 27 areas, the Neighbourhood Watch in the area is working day and night. These people are working, for example, my leader here was working last night, but he was around that side, and then the shooting was happening on the other side. Now we need visibility on the police.”
The Happy Valley Neighbourhood Watch has called for more patrols by the SAPS as well as provincial and city authorities. It has also urged the community not to let this type of crime take hold.
Chairperson of Happy Valley Neighbourhood Watch, Imanuel May says, “I want to ask the community, if you are available, that you can come and join us, be part of the Neighbourhood Watch. This is not for our own safety, but it’s for the community. At the end of the day, it could have been anyone’s kid lying here, because one of them was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, or two of them instead, or all of them, let’s say like that, so at the end of the day, where are we going from here? Is that what we want? Is that what we want for the future? Do we want the change in our happy valley, or what do we want to see from here?”
The Acting Minister of Police, Prof. Firoz Cachalia, visited Cape Town this week. He met with stakeholders, including the Western Cape premier and the city of Cape Town, among others, over the crisis of the continued escalation of violent crime.
MEC for Police Oversight & Community safety Anroux Marais explains, “Illegal firearms and ammunition and specifically, the supplier or suppliers must be eradicated from our streets. I am of the opinion that this is organised crime and a discussion with Prof. Cachalia was about to expansion of crime intelligence and investigation powers to the municipal level.”
Cachalia has, among others, reaffirmed the importance of the Cooperation Agreement that was entered into by the SAPS, the Western Cape government, and the City of Cape Town in September last year.
The agreement forms the foundation for joint efforts to improve safety and security in communities across the province.
