Children Under Fire: Cape Flats gang violence claims young lives and wounds others

The Cape Flats is bleeding - with two children murdered in a week, and three wounded, with one clinging to life in a matter of hours and days.

The latest casualties, sadly, are a four-year-old girl and seven-year-old boy who were innocently playing in North-end Street in Cloetesville in Stellenbosch on Sunday evening.

* The little girl who was struck in the neck and the bullet has traveled to her eye. She is in a stable condition after being transported to Tygerberg Hospital while the boy was wounded in the arm.

Police report that an adult male was shot by gunmen inside a silver Volkswagen Polo, with the gunfire hitting the two children. Police confirmed two men were arrested for the shooting.

* Hours before in Eerste River, a 16-year-old boy was wounded in a drive-by shooting which claimed the lives of two men aged 20 and 26.

* On Saturday, 14-year-old Alnika Mitchell was shot and killed while sitting and watching learners celebrate their matric farewell in Lugmag Avenue in Kensington. She was in grade nine.

* December 2, Zechariah Matthee, nine was shot and killed including his aunt, Cleo Bailey, 19 and friend, Mousheen Daniels, 26 and two others wounded inside a house and wendy house in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain.

The December school holidays are set to start on Wednesday, but sadly the death toll and injuries continue to increase with no arrests made in most of the cases.

Last month, Dereleen James MP ActionSA Member of Parliament revealed shocking statistics, revealing that gang-related murders of children on the Cape Flats have doubled over the past year.

ActionSA said in response to ActionSA's parliamentary question, the Minister of Police confirmed that between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, gang-related murders of minors recorded by police stations on the Cape Flats more than doubled from 27 to 59.

It reported that between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2025, 472 children were tragically murdered on the Cape Flats, with Elsies River, Mitchells Plain and Delft accounting for more than 40% of all gang-related child deaths recorded over the past five years.

As the numbers continue to climb, it follows the call from Civic Organisations and activists for a state of disaster and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), holding both the presidency, Premier Alan Winde and Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to account in recent weeks.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg said members used an informer network to source information and obtained witness statements in a bid to arrest the suspects.

"The members followed up all the information they gathered on the whereabouts of the suspects and their determination to bring the suspects to book were rewarded when they arrested them within two hours after the shooting incident occurred.

"The two suspects aged 27 and 31 face charges of attempted murder," he added.

"They will appear in the Stellenbosch Magistrates' court once they have been charged. The Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile thanked the Station Commander and the members who worked hard to arrest those responsible for the crime they committed and ensuring they are brought before a court of law."

Following the shooting, Theolita Jooste, 32, the mother of four-year-old Leah Jooste told Cape Argus, the bullet traveled from the neck to the eye.

Jooste said her daughter is in a stable condition and is awaiting doctor's decisions now. "She was playing outside and there were a whole lot of children in the gang (in the passage," she explained.

"They said the car drove past and stopped, two guys got out and started shooting, I don't know if they saw anyone they wanted.

"The bullet traveled from the neck to the eye. She has not had an operation yet. She has had a scan so far.

"She just wants me to be close to her, I am not leaving her side, she keeps saying: 'Ek is dood geskiet.' (I am shot dead.).

Community leader Felicity Roland confirmed that the little girl is fighting for her life in hospital and that they would be opposing the men's release on bail.

"The child is in a stable condition in hospital and we want to ask people to stop spreading rumours that they are dead," she said.

"Two innocent children have been shot, enough is enough.

"We need to fight against this evil here in Cloetesville. "We are planning to stand against these gangsters bail. They spend three months behind bars and then they are released due to no evidence and to commit more crimes.

"Today, Alnika Mitchell's family will have the difficult task of identifying her body at the state forensic mortuary, a task no parent has to do."

On Sunday, her grandmother, Beverley Abrahams told the Cape Argus's sister publication,  the Daily Voice how Alnika came running into the yard after she was shot and how she chased after the gunman, telling him that he had shot her child and called on residents to help catch him.

Her father, Emilio Johnson described in horror, the significant loss the family suffered, sharing that he had called her his "bossiekop."

Michael Jacobs of the Mitchells Plain Community Forum, activist and Mitchells Plain United Residents Association, called for a state of disaster to be declared.

"The latest attack where two children were shot and wounded in Stellenbosch following the killing of a 14 year old girl on Saturday and a 9 year old boy in Rocklands on Wednesday is totally unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible," he said.

"These monsters must be taken out of our society and the failure of the law enforcement agencies, governments and communities to protect our most vulnerable members of society and indictment on all of us.

"We call on the provincial government to declare a Provincial State of Disaster so as to arrest the out of control gun violence and gang killings."

At an open air service following Alnika's murder, ward councillor, Cheslyn Steenberg called on residents to take back the streets: "We cannot be given more than one wake up call, if we get it right to get the gangsters out of here, we will be the first coloured community," he said.

"We are not going to call for the army, for a shutdown, we want to move freely, when the army comes in then you cannot move around freely."

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