A wave of violent crime has gripped the Kraaifontein area, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) confirming the death toll has risen to 14 in the past week alone. The latest incidents occurred late Saturday and in the early hours of Sunday morning, marking a devastating escalation in the community.
According to police, the recent violence includes separate incidents where three men were fatally shot and another was killed in a stabbing. Dockets have also been opened for a case of attempted murder and a rape.
This weekend’s killings follow a brutal series of earlier attacks. Earlier in the week, six people were shot and killed. The following day, three others died after they were beaten and set alight in an apparent vigilante attack. The motives for the spate of killings remain under investigation.
The situation has left residents living in constant fear. One community member from Wallacedene described the dire circumstances, stating, “We don’t know what happened the situation here lead to people to kill each other. But every day we had that people are killed.” The resident issued a plea for unity, adding, “We are calling the community to come and sit down… if there is an issue… talk.”
The resident also expressed the pervasive anxiety, saying, “Everybody can’t move here, we are scared every day… Wallacedene is not good anymore now. Each and every day it doesn’t matter it’s night, doesn’t matter it’s the morning.”
While police visibility was acknowledged, community members argue that greater preventative measures are critically needed to combat the scourge of violent crime. A resident noted, “In terms of visibility, police are visible in the community. They are patrolling… but in terms of preventing these shootings, they do not, because maybe they don’t know the information… we heard that a shooting [has] already happened.”
In response to the crisis, the Acting Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia, alongside other high-ranking police officials, visited Cape Town. Meetings were held with various stakeholders, including the provincial government, to address the surge in violence.
