A quiet tension has washed over the community of Ottery as they anticipate when the next gang shooting will break out. Grassy Park CPF chairperson Phillip Bam says gang related violence is taking innocent lives every week. Over the past weekend, a 73 year old woman was killed by a stray bullet. However, Bam worries about the community’s lack of support for the police’s efforts to get to the source of the illegal gun trade in the area.

“We are unable at this point to identify where the guns are coming from and how the local gangsters are able to obtain them. We have however found that the guns being used are R4 and AK47’s. These particular guns are only suppose to be in the position of security agents or police officials,” Bam explained.

According to Bam, the CPF has made attempts to mobilise the community’s support for the police as last week, residents threw bricks as the police patrolled the area. Bam said residents have reached desperation as the gangs dominate their community.

“We can not allow these gangsters to become a structure of our community but they are unfortunately residents and that means their own neighbours, friends and family will have to stand up against them. This has made our attempts to address the gang issue extremely difficult,” Bam added.

The two rival gangs, Eurocrats and Mongrels have requested a meeting to negotiate a peace agreement. However, Bam said the CPF does not believe another peace talk will address the problem, adding that there is a need for the army to assist police in the matter.

“It has been proven that all these peace talks do not work out. It lasts for a few months then it all flares up again. So it is a complex situation that we need to deal with. By facilitating this talk, we will be giving some credibility to the gangs, making them a part of a structure in the community that should not be,” Bam said.

Daily load shedding in the area has also allowed gangsters to move around unnoticed, intensifying the already volatile situation.

“Gangs are growing…they are recruiting youngsters far younger than ever before. We need the army’s immediate intervention. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)