Seven killings in one night: Western Cape needs additional police resources NOW

8 October 2023

The DA in the Western Cape is shocked and saddened to learn that seven people were murdered in two separate incidents on Saturday night. The implication of these incidents is clear: the SAPS must come to the table and fix longstanding problems of under-resourcing in the Western Cape, before more lives are lost.

Saturday night’s mass killings took place mere hours apart. In the first incident, four males were shot dead in a shack in Mandela Park, Hout Bay. Details of the deceased have yet to be made public, and detectives from the Serious Violent Crimes Unit are currently investigating the deaths.

The second incident took place in Heinz Park, Samora Machel. Three victims were killed, including a 17-year-old boy, and one individual was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound. The assailants, who used a variety of weapons to attack the victims, fled in a vehicle. As with the first incident, the killings are being investigated by the Serious Violent Crimes Unit.

At the time of writing, no arrests had been made in either case.

What these latest murders make even more clear is that the current number of SAPS personnel in the Western Cape is simply not enough. This failure to resource the Western Cape effectively is compounded by an inefficient, highly-centralised and ineffective policing model that fails to incentivise results, and does not utilise data effectively to guide deployment. The Western Cape Government has done what it can to mitigate the situation with its LEAP Officers and other provincial safety initiatives, but cannot hope to end crime in the Western Cape until Police Minister Bheki Cele either brings his R102 billion budget to bear on crime in the Western Cape, or devolves the power to do so to the more capable, DA-led Western Cape Government.

To urgently save lives and reduce crime in the Western Cape, Minister Cele must, at a minimum:

Provide sufficient SAPS personnel to effectively resource the Western Cape;

Use all available data to ensure resources are allocated effectively to where they are most needed;

Drastically increase the number of detectives in the Western Cape, with a special emphasis on crime intelligence;

Allow the establishment of a dedicated site for the destruction of illegal firearms within the borders of the Western Cape.

If Minister Cele is unwilling or unable to do the above, he should recognise his own failure, and devolve policing functions to the Western Cape.

DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety Gillion Bosman says: “The DA in the Western Cape is rapidly losing patience with incessant and seemingly unending killings in the Western Cape, as are the people of our Province. The Western Cape Government has done everything in its power to reduce crime, but the harsh reality is that the province lacks the resources to do so.”

“Crime cannot be reduced until Bheki Cele and SAPS come to the table. It is abundantly clear that there is something very, very wrong with the manner in which policing is conducted in the Western Cape, and every day brings new deaths.”

“I will ensure that unannounced oversight visits are conducted at SAPS stations across the Western Cape in the coming days and weeks. We must expose and resolve policing failures as a matter of urgency.”

Issued by Gillion Bosman, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety, 8 October 2023