Authorities are rethinking their methods amid a resurge of gang violence on the Cape Flats.
|||With the resurgence of gang violence on the Cape Flats, authorities are using roadshows to convince residents to try to curb the killings.
At the weekend two men thought to be gangsters were killed in Elsies River and Bonteheuwel.
Last Wednesday three children, one of them just three years old, were shot and wounded in crossfire as gang violence erupted again in Manenberg and Hanover Park, shattering a truce brokered in November last year.
And in Hanover Park last Sunday the deaths of three gangsters in one day prompted Community Safety MEC Dan Plato to rethink the strategy in place to curb gang violence.
In Clarke’s Estate on Friday, a 34-year-old man was gunned down, and in Bonteheuwel a “high-flying” gang member was shot on Saturday.
Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said both died on the scene.
“Upon their arrival they found the 34-year-old victim in Clarke’s Estate lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown at this stage but the possibility that it is gang-related will be investigated,” Van Wyk said.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is to visit Gugulethu tomorrow after a series of gang shootings and attacks there over the past few months.
Nyanga cluster commander Major- General Robbie Roberts made the announcement before a door-to- door walkabout in Gugulethu on Saturday.
About 100 volunteers from Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu converged to distribute pamphlets in the areas.
Gugulethu has seen a series of gang- related murders and attacks in recent months as the Vatos Locos, Long Island and Outlaws gangs battle for control.
The gangs are made up chiefly of teenagers.
Roberts said: “We have seen gang violence in Hanover Park, Manenberg and, of course, Gugulethu. This is a city-wide issue. Gugulethu will be able to represent all the areas affected when the police minister arrives, and voice their concerns not only on safety issues but anything that affects them.”
Roberts advised people not to take the law into their own hands.
“We will handle the criminals… please do not take the law into your own hands or we will have to arrest you.
“ We want to put the real criminals behind bars, not good citizens.”
Most residents responded positively to the pamphlets.
Phumzile Mafunda of Gugulethu, one of the volunteers, said it was time to take back their streets.
“We have seen too much innocent blood spilled. We cannot allow gangs to control how we live.”
Hanif Loonat, chairman of the Western Cape CPF board, said that now was the time to act against gangsterism.
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