Durban – Police are investigating incidents of drive-by shootings, burning of motor vehicles, attacks on homes – and murders – in strife-torn Wentworth.
And as they hunt for the masked attackers who gunned down a Wentworth teenager a week ago, local leaders are trying to find new ways to get the crime-weary community to report culprits, without risking their own lives.
“We will be calling a prayer meeting with the community and churches in the area and we are going to start a system where people will be able to place their tip-offs to the police in the church collection boxes,” community activist, Desmond D’Sa, said on Wednesday.
“We need to do something or else we are going to see our community go down before our eyes.”
As police conclude their investigation into the murder of 19-year-old Tevin Rivers, fears are growing of an all-out turf war over the lucrative drug trade plaguing the south Durban community.
“This is not about one gang fighting another. This is about drugs and turfs and who controls what,” said D’Sa, who was instrumental in quelling gang violence in Wentworth in the 1980s.
“Drugs are destroying this community and unless we stand up, things are only going to get worse.”
Last Thursday, Rivers and his 20-year-old friend, Kyle David, were sprayed with bullets when a group of men wearing balaclavas attacked them at a block of flats in Reiger Road.
Rivers was shot in the head and thigh and died at the scene. David was shot in the thigh.
He was taken to hospital where he was said to be in a critical condition.
“It sounded like an Uzi machine gun,” a neighbour who lives in a nearby block said. “Rat-at-at-tat. When I jumped off the couch to look through the window people were running in all directions. It was total chaos.”
The man, who feared being named, said members of the community believed Rivers was not the intended target…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
