An 18-year-old boy on crutches visiting his friends died in a hail of bullets on the pavement in Korfbal Street, Beacon Valley, on Wednesday January 8.

A six-year-old girl who went to the shops with her friends was injured in a gang shootout in Skildpadbessie Street, Lentegeur, on Friday January 10.

Their crimes? They lived in communities plagued by gang violence and could not get out of harm’s way quickly enough.

The two are among the latest victims in the ongoing clashes between rival Americans and Fancy Boys gangs in Lentegeur and Beacon Valley this past week, according Lentegeur police spokesperson, Constable Navon van Houten (“Girl, 6, injured, 4 dead in 5 days of gang shootings”, Plainsman, January 13).

The incident in which the girl was injured and taken to a nearby hospital, was followed by a double murder that took place along Morgenster Road on Saturday January 11, and two attempted murders, which occurred in the same road on Sunday January 12, in apparent tensions between the Americans and Fancy Boys gangs.

On Monday January 13, police officers were called out to another bloody scene in Lentegeur where another two men were killed and two more were injured.

Constable Van Houten said gang tensions between Mongrels and Terrible Josters gangs in Montrose Park also claimed the lives of two men, who died in separate incidents on Thursday January 9 and Sunday January 12.

Speaking to the Plainsman on Sunday, the family of the 18-year-old Beacon Valley boy, who did not want to be named as they fear retaliation, said the teenager was defenceless against the perpetrators who killed him.

“He was outside with his friends but could not run away because he was on crutches. The sad part was when we arrived on the scene, he lay in a pool of blood and his arm was still in his crutch,” his uncle said.

“My heart is broken but I have to be strong for my wife and 10-year-old son. All we want now is justice for our son and peace in our community. I fear for Wednesday when we have to take our son to school. It is tough raising a son in this area,” the boy’s father said.

Colin de Hart, chairperson of the Beacon Valley neighbourhood watch, described the situation on the ground as “volatile”.

“The current shootings have had an effect on the patrolling efforts of the neighbourhood watch, as the area is volatile with sporadic shootings.

“Police and law enforcement visibility have been increased in the area but again the community is being held hostage and cannot move freely. Our neighbourhood watch members have been advised not to patrol during this period for (the sake of) their own safety,” Mr De Hart said.

Michael Jacobs, chairperson of the Lentegeur community police forum (CPF), visited the scene of the latest shootout with Lentegeur police chief Colonel Umavathie Rameshwarnath on Monday.

Mr Jacobs said a community meeting will be held in the affected area on Wednesday January 15, at 2pm, to address the concerns of residents.

“We will address the concerns of the community and (discuss) how the community can work with the police. I know there is a trust deficit between the community and the police but it is time that we put our hands together to solve some of these issues.

“It is totally unacceptable that when the police responded to the scene in Sylvia Street, that some of the community members pelted the police with stones and bricks.

“I want to send a strong message to the gangsters,” Mr Jacobs said. “We are not going to tolerate that you intimidate our community and that the community should be scared. The police must act with firmness to ensure that the gang members are arrested and put on trial,” he added.

On Monday, Colonel Ramesh also met with the Democratic Alliance constituency head for Mitchell’s Plain, Ricardo Mackenzie and ward 76 councillor Avron Plaatjies to address the rise in gang violence plaguing communities.

Sub-council 17 chairperson Elton Jansen called, among others, for greater accountability from authorities.

“This is a call for action – but also for accountability and urge our prosecution authorities to prosecute individuals. We urge all community members to help in fostering peace. Talk to your families. Challenge the culture of silence. Let us be relentless in our fight against these gangsters,” Mr Jansen said in a statement.

Independent criminologist Ben de Vos has reiterated the need for an “integrated community-owned anti-gangsterism strategy”.

In October last year, the Mitchell’s Plain CPF and Evolving Possibilities Institute for Change, founded by Mr Vos, hosted an anti-gangsterism dialogue to lay the foundation for an anti-gang strategy for Mitchell’s Plain (“Gangsterism has become an atrocity”, Plainsman, October 30, 2024).

“Reactive efforts to quell the ongoing and lingering gang violence are evidently not adequate and proven to be ineffective on a long-term basis. Mediating peace talks and truces have been overrated and a repertoire of futility,” he said.

Mr De Vos called on the communities of Mitchell’s Plain to take ownership of safety and claim back streets and spaces.

“That can only happen through mass mobilisation, rekindling the spirit of activism and advocacy and the building of collective efficacy in communities. The reliance only on law enforcement solutions has been proven to be inefficient to deal with the problem of gangsterism. The time has come for more community owned and integrated approaches,” he said.

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