The Gugulethu Community Policing Forum has urged police to intensify operations aimed at removing illegal firearms from the community, following a triple shooting in which three people were gunned down at a house in New Cross on the Cape Flats.
The incident occurred on Monday evening, 13 April 2026, at a residence on Nontulo Street in New Cross, Gugulethu. Police responded to a complaint around 20:22 and discovered the bodies of a man and a woman inside the house, both with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. A third male victim was found outside the premises with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. The deceased males were aged 33 and 46. Police have confirmed that the circumstances surrounding the attack and the motive are still under investigation.
In response to the shooting, Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, coordinator of the Movement for Collective Action and Racial Equity (Movement for CARE), who joined the discussion from Washington DC, described the deaths as a tragic loss, noting that one of the victims was a woman among the two men killed.
Swaartbooi highlighted the broader context of gun violence in Cape Town, stating that the issue extends beyond policing alone and is deeply rooted in unaddressed socioeconomic challenges. He pointed to statistics from 6 to 12 April 2026, during which approximately 50 people died in violence in the city, including a 12-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl caught in gang crossfire. Around 55 shooting incidents were reported in that period, with about 29 people injured.
The activist noted that the latest violence coincides with the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) in tackling gun violence, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address. He referenced reports that about R800 million has been allocated to this deployment.
Swaartbooi questioned the effectiveness of the military intervention, recalling a similar deployment in 2019 that yielded limited results. According to community feedback from areas including Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Manenberg, and Mitchells Plain, soldiers have primarily arrested young boys for minor issues such as smoking dagga on street corners, with no substantive arrests of high-level gang leaders involved in distributing illegal guns.
He argued that soldiers are trained for border policing and warfare, not for addressing crime, and that confronting gun violence with guns may exacerbate the problem rather than resolve it. Instead, he called for redirecting funds toward strengthening police resources, including skilled investigators and improved intelligence capabilities. Swaartbooi claimed that the SAPS has been infiltrated by gangs, a concern reportedly confirmed by the Western Cape provincial premier in relation to gangs influencing crime prevention structures.
Addressing patterns in Gugulethu specifically, Swaartbooi linked the recent shooting to ongoing territorial wars among gangsters over extortion rackets. He noted a similar spike about two weeks earlier, when five people were shot in and around the area, often occurring around payday periods. This fits into a wider phenomenon of gang conflicts that have spiralled out of control, endangering not only residents but also community activists.
He referenced past incidents, including the killing of seven people in September 2025, and the murders of activists fighting against extortion in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha, where investigations have reportedly been insufficient. Swaartbooi warned against relying on external solutions such as bringing in the US Marines, which he said would undermine national sovereignty.
Instead, he advocated for investment in social programs, including extramural activities, parks, and recreational facilities for children and young people, to channel their energy positively and tackle the socioeconomic drivers of violence at their core.
The Gugulethu Community Policing Forum’s call for intensified firearm removal operations underscores ongoing community concerns over safety on the Cape Flats amid persistent gun violence. Police continue to pursue all leads in the triple murder case.
