Residents in gang-ridden areas on the Cape Flats held a picket outside the Bishop Lavis Police Station on Thursday morning, following a string of murders over the past few days.

Around 40 residents from Bishop Lavis, Nooitgedacht, Valhalla Park, Kriefgat and Bonteheuwel, gathered with placards reiterating their calls for police to address crime gang activity in their areas.

While the last week of the year is usually filled with celebration and festivities, the communities of Bishop Lavis, Bonteheuwel and Valhalla Park were left to mourn the death of several people killed in shooting incidents, including two children.

According to the Safety and Security Directorate’s annual statistics for the 2017/18 financial year, there has been a 19% increase in the number of arrests made related to gang activity. Police have also identified 16 gang-violence hotspots across the municipality. Residents have been a part of several #TotalShutDown protests calling for an urgent intervention by government.

A 10-year-old girl was shot in the left ankle and a 16 year-old-boy was fatally wounded in a shooting incident on Sunday morning in Bishop Lavis, while a 25-year-old man was shot and killed in the same area on Monday morning.

In Bonteheuwel, police revealed that one man was fatally wounded in a shootout that also saw two people getting injured.

On Christmas Eve, a shooting incident at a spaza shop in Valhalla Park claimed the lives of a 4-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl, with five others injured. Two people were also injured in a shooting in Factreton on Christmas Day.

Some of residents demands include: a police station in Bonteheuwel and the permanent deployment of the tactical response team to the Bishop Lavis precinct.

They also called for the reallocation of police personnel away from the suburbs and to criminal hot spots, the immediate eviction of gang leaders and drug lords and a Mass Public Works Program at a living wage.

Residents further demanded the immediate arrest of all gang members as per provisions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, No 121 Of 1998.

According to legal firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the purpose of POCA is, amongst others, to: introduce measures to combat organised crime such as money laundering and racketeering activities; provide for the recovery of the proceeds of unlawful activity; provide for the civil forfeiture of property that has been used to commit an offence; and prescribe penalties for those found guilty of committing offences in terms of the Act.

The firm also noted that Section 38 of POCA makes provision for preservation of property orders – that is, an order prohibiting any person from dealing with any property in any manner, subject to the exceptions and conditions which are specified in the order.

A leader in the #totalshutdown movement and member of Bishop Lavis Action Community Abdul Karim Mathews said residents plan to lay a charge against the South African Police Service for their failure to execute the law.

“According to POCA, if you have an identifiable tattoo and two or more people congregate for the purpose of illegal activity, it makes you a criminal. But if Saps conducts raids and they do not find any drugs or weapons then no arrests are made,” explained Matthews.

Community activist Nadia Mayman said despite the relative calm brought by the presence of the Anti-Gang unit launched by police commissioner Bheki Cele last month, 10 people were shot within a space of 20 minutes on Christmas eve.

According to Mayman said had residents demands in previous shutdowns been adequately met “we might not have seen the carnage over the festive season”.

Mayman however added that the Anti-Gang-Unit has improved police response time to criminal activities but reiterated that there are not enough police members to cater to all suburbs within the precinct.

Mayman said an invitation had been extended to Executive Mayor Dan Plato, City of Cape Town’s Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith and police commissioner, Bheki Cele.

Matthew also noted that Thursday’s picket will be followed by 48-hour rolling pickets if residents demands are not met.

Commander of the Anti-gang Unit Major-General Andre Lincoln said three people have been arrested in connection with the Valhalla Park shooting on Christmas Eve. Lincoln added that 12 people were also taken in for questioning.

Licoln said “We’ve arrested one person in Athlone. With that arrest, we seized a whole lot of medical supplies, R29,000 in cash, cellphones, a gas welding regulator. We’ve also taken in six people for questioning, then at Kreefgat, we took a further six for questioning and arrested two more.”

VOC/ Tauhierah Salie