ActionSA demands urgent intervention as Western Cape falls to murderous gangs with law enforcement missing in action

17 October 2023

ActionSA demands urgent intervention following the recent surge in gang-related violence and killings that have plagued the Western Cape over the past weeks. The horrifying discovery of a decapitated head in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, serves as a shocking indicator of the escalating violence, posing a grave threat to the safety and security of the residents in the Western Cape.

As communities bear witness to unspeakable violence, Minister Bheki Cele's PR Walkabout in Hanover Park, Cape Town, this weekend rightly stirred upset among residents. They are frustrated that, despite the horrific bloodshed across the Western Cape, communities are consistently left defenceless and without police protection.

With a majority share of all gang-related murders in the country concentrated in the Province, the shocking state of our police stations, never-ending mass shootings and an alarming increase in the number of police officers being gunned down, innocent residents are left without hope that this violence will come to an end in the Province.

In light of the significant threat to the safety and security of communities across the Province, ActionSA calls upon the Police Minister, the Western Cape Police Commissioner, and the Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety to urgently develop an effective strategy to quell the barbaric violence inflicted by ruthless gangs, especially on the Cape Flats.

Issued by Michelle Wasserman, ActionSA Western Cape Provincial Chairperson, 17 October 2023