A surge of gang-related violence has plunged several Cape Town communities into a state of crisis, with over 30 murders reported in just seven days, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA). The past weekend alone saw five people killed in separate shootings across Mitchell’s Plain and Muizenberg.
The wave of killings has prompted grave concerns from community leaders, who describe the situation as “out of control.” The recent victims include two men, aged 37 and 40, who were shot dead on Viscount Street in the Rocklands area on Thursday evening.
In an interview, Martin Makasi, chairperson of the Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF), expressed deep frustration with the escalating carnage. When questioned on the effectiveness of the South African Police Service’s anti-gang units, Makasi offered a tempered critique.
“One wants to believe that it is working,” Makasi stated. “But we must acknowledge that the gangs are also not resting… We cannot say they are not working, but we must acknowledge that probably the approaches that they are applying are not really giving them the results that they are expecting.”
Makasi pointed to a power vacuum within the gangs as a key factor driving the recent violence. With many senior gang leaders currently behind bars, he explained, there is a lack of coordination, leading to a “free-for-all” where individual members act with impunity.
“One decides that we will wake up tomorrow and we will go and kill people. They do as they please,” he said.
Another critical issue identified is the rampant proliferation of illegal firearms. The Nyanga CPF recently launched a campaign called “Silencing the Gun” on August 9th to address what Makasi calls the “easy accessibility” of weapons that fuel the violence.
“The illegal firearms are not hidden in the police station,” Makasi emphasized. “They are hidden in our houses in this community. It is our sons, it is our nephews, it is our brothers and uncles who are possessing these illegal firearms.”
He called for a dual approach to combat the crisis: intensified police visibility and a crucial shift in community cooperation. Makasi urged residents to break the cycle of silence and report family members or friends in possession of illegal weapons.
Despite acknowledging that additional resources, including the deployment of the National Intervention Unit (NIU), have been sent to affected areas, Makasi conceded that authorities have not yet found the “right remedy” to stem the tide of violence.
As communities mourn their latest losses, the urgent question remains what further action will be taken to prevent the situation from deteriorating further in the days to come.
