Mitchell's Plain community urges SANDF intervention to combat gang violence
The Mitchell's Plain community organise a peace and prayer carcade to honour lives lost to gang violence, support grieving families, and stand united against violence.
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
A call for the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) to bring stability in Mitchell's Plain has gone out following a wave of gang-related bloodshed.
In the latest mass shootings, five people were killed and 14 wounded in a matter of hours.
In response to the call, the SANDF told the Cape Argus that it was for the police to respond.
In response to the gang violence, the Mitchell's Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF), in collaboration with the Lentegeur and Strandfontein CPFs, convened an emergency meeting on Saturday, which saw a crime awareness carcade take place on Sunday in Mitchell’s Plain.
They have also called for inter-faith gatherings to take place in the week, while a mass peace march involving clergy is planned for Sunday, July 13.
Earlier, Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said the sporadic shootings in parts of Mitchell’s Plain at the weekend was due to a family feud between rival gangs.
Patekile confirmed 19 arrests, with five charged for unrelated matters and 14 questioned regarding the shootings.
In a statement, Norman Jantjies, chairperson of the Mitchell's Plain CPF, said they were demanding the arrest of gang leaders.
"We refuse to accept gang violence as a norm in our community. The bloodshed must end, and those responsible must face justice. We call on every resident of Mitchell's Plain to stand together, support these initiatives, and demand action from those in power.
“Following a thorough situation analysis, the meeting issued the following demands: A programme of coordinated and integrated actions that brings calm and reassurance to the entire community. These actions must be implemented immediately and in full consultation with the entire community; a coordinated plan by all law enforcement agencies of the state to bring an immediate end to shootings and gang-related violence in Mitchell's Plain; the urgent arrest of all gang leaders operating in Mitchell's Plain and the summons of the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, the National Minister of Police, and City and Provincial law enforcement officials to a community meeting within the coming week.”
Michael Jacobs of the Lentegeur CPF and Mitchell’s Plain United Residents Association said they called on the SANDF to stabilise the violence.
“The police is very much under resourced and cannot put a handle on this violence and there has been call from our community that the army needs to be brought in.
“I think with the severe shortcomings of the police, I think that the deployment of the South African National Defence force will bring a measure of stability to allow SAPS to do their policing work as the SANDF can be used strategically, whether it is manning road blocks or doing high risk operations with the police.
“We support the Lentegeur idea that the army should be deployed to stabilise communities.
"We call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute a commission of inquiry into gang violence.”
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