Angered residents of Bonteheuwel and surrounds demanded answers from National police commissioner Bheki Cele on Tuesday, after he called an urgent meeting to address the escalation of gang violence in the area.

This follows a shooting incident on Sunday, where three alleged gangsters were shot dead and a forth wounded. Residents said they are tired of being the victims of gang-related shootings, while police take a reactive approach to combat the excessive crime in the area.

Residents have expressed concern-and anger at the police- as many suffer severe trauma or physical injury as a result of being caught in gang cross fire. A woman was struck in the head by a stray bullet while travelling on a Golden Arrow bus in Valhalla Park. A tragic incident on Christmas Eve also left the community reeling, after two children were killed in a drive-by shooting.

Gangsterism on the Cape Flats is not limited to Bonteheuwel alone. In Valhalla Park, a man was gunned down in Agste Laan over the weekend. It’s believed the deceased was targeted after he attempted to mediate a truce between rival gangs.

Member of the Bishop Lavis Action Community (BLAC) Abdul Karriem Matthews explained that the demands of several protests by community members have not been met and that the minister’s appearance is considered to be cheap politicking ahead of the general elections in May.

Among their demands are: a Working Class Summit, the permanent deployment of a Tactical Response team, a permanent base camp in and a police station for the area of Bonteheuwel.

“Look, for us, there is a difference between governance and politicking. Governance would mean these are the peoples demands and governance listens to what the people have to say. This is cheap politicking,” said Matthews.

In the meeting, which Cele took place after schedule due to the minister doing a walk-a-bout in the area, community members heatedly demanded answers from the inter-ministerial task team which included the local brigadier Jones, police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula and Major-General Jeremy Vearey, as to why no progress has been made.

Ex-police officer Graham Seebritz highlighted that infighting within the task teams has left the community lacking trust in the police force. He also asked the panel where the high level of weapons and ammunition comes from as there is no manufacturer in Cape Town.

“The people who do these shootings, don’t have the financial muscle to buy firearms. So who is providing these firearms? And serious firearms! The massacre in Vahallala park (saw) semi-automatic weapons being used. Where do these people get these weapons and why are they so readily available to our community?” asked Seebritz.

An unfavoured opinion was that of Bonteheuwel resident Martha Lewis, who said the core of the problem does not lie with the police, but rather within the homes of residents. To much objection from other attendees, Lewis said the parents are to blame and that mothers need to unite and stand up against the social-ills.

“People are blaming the police for what is happening in our communities. The police are (family members) and the crime that gets committed is through our own people. My request (from the community) today, is to stop blaming the police. The parents, the mothers are to blame for what’s happening in the townships because it is (our) children that (are) gangsters. We as mothers, let (us) take hands together and start working on the shebeens, gangsters and drug dealers,” exclaimed Lewis.

Cele clarified that the meeting was called by him, but not simply as a result of the recent shootings. Instead it was an opportunity to address the needs of the community.

“The community has a feeling that “alleged gangsters” died so we should not have responded. It cant be the work of the police not to respond. Murder is a murder, it doesn’t matter who killed who,” explained Cele.

During the meeting he also noted the high level of children that came to greet him from the streets and questioned why they were not at school despite many of them telling him they have hopes of completing their education.

He said gangsterism is a symptom of an underlying problem and that a holistic approach needs to be developed to deal with crime on the Cape Flats.

“The problem is we are working on pockets; we are not working on the approach of the whole Cape Flats to understand and solve the matters as one community. That was to be done by the working-class summit which didn’t happen. I told them (community leaders) they did not come to me with (a plan). Its me, now, that wants to work with an over-arching understanding. The issue here is never about ourselves (or) our anger, it is about the future and the safety of the people we lead.”

He added that the relevant stakeholders should come together and provide a date for Working Class summit to allow for this.

Matthews however denied that the summit failed to take place as a result of the community members not communicating effectively and said it is “a bold-faced lie” as Cele simply left his delegation behind.

However, he added that he will “give the minister the benefit of the doubt for now” and that the community will develop the plan as “their (police force) plans have failed”.

Matthews went on to to say that a date will now be proposed but cautioned that the implementation of the plan will be monitored by the communities as they are directly affected.

Member of the Bonteheuwel Joint Peace Forum, Nadia Mayman said the community understands that the problem of crime has underlying factors and is happy that a date for the summit can now materialize.

VOC/ Tauhierah Salie