Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has issued an urgent plea to National Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia for emergency support to the South African Police Service (SAPS) Anti-Gang Unit. This call to action follows a spate of violent shootings in the city, including the tragic killing of a three-month-old baby in the Bonteheuwel area.
In a live interview, Mayor Hill-Lewis attributed the recent surge in violence to a bloody power struggle within Cape Town’s gangs. “There is a shakeup for leadership in the Cape Town street gangs. Many of the gang leaders are currently in prison or on trial,” he stated, explaining that this has created a violent vacuum as factions fight for control.
The mayor highlighted systemic failures within the criminal justice system, using the Bonteheuwel infant’s death as a devastating example. He revealed that the suspected murderer had been arrested twice before for illegal firearm possession, but both cases collapsed within the court system, allowing the individual back onto the streets.
“This is the perfect example case of why it is essential that Cape Town be given the right to investigate crimes,” Hill-Lewis argued. He stressed that the city’s Metro Police officers are currently unable to fully investigate these crimes themselves, relying instead on what he described as “overworked, overstretched SAPS detectives and an increasingly fragile criminal justice system.”
The mayor’s central proposal is for Metro Police to be granted additional powers to investigate specific crimes like illegal firearm possession, gangsterism, and drug-related offences. He pointed to a national conviction rate of just 5% for these crimes, meaning only five out of every hundred arrested criminals face prison time.
“If we could turn that number around so that 95 of them go to prison… then we would have a vastly different situation on the streets,” Hill-Lewis asserted.
When challenged on accusations that the City is attempting to usurp power from the national government for political gain, the mayor firmly denied the claim. “We are not trying to take any powers away from them… We want the powers to be added to Metro Police officers,” he clarified, framing it as a necessary step to supplement a struggling SAPS.
With the pressure mounting, Mayor Hill-Lewis indicated that the City is prepared to take legal action if their request is denied. He called a continued refusal “increasingly irrational” given the “meltdown of SAPS at a leadership level” and the “extreme corruption and capture of crime intelligence.”
“Undoubtedly,” he responded when asked if he was prepared to go to court.
The Mayor confirmed that Police Minister Cachalia has acknowledged receipt of his letter and agreed to a meeting, but no substantive response on the emergency support or investigative powers has yet been received.
The situation leaves a cloud of uncertainty over Cape Town’s communities as they await a response from national government amidst ongoing violence.
