How shifting gang alliances are escalating violence in the Western Cape
Recent gang-related shootings in Mitchells Plain have left multiple people dead and injured, including children caught in the crossfire, as violence continues across the Cape Flats.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Recent figures and incidents highlight the scale of ongoing gang violence in Cape Town, as a new report warns that internal instability within gangs is driving conflict across the Western Cape.
The latest Western Cape Gang Monitor, released in March, describes a criminal landscape increasingly shaped by fragmentation, leadership battles and shifting alliances, rather than traditional rivalries.
According to the report, hotspots of gang violence include areas such as Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, Manenberg, Kensington and Factreton, where conflict linked to territorial expansion and defections has been observed.
A key trend identified is so-called “floor-crossing”, where gang members switch allegiances. The report notes that, in some cases, individuals move between groups with access to weapons and sensitive information, contributing to cycles of retaliation and mistrust.
“Guns and secrets crossed the floor,” a former 28s gang general said.
The report also highlights internal leadership struggles as a driver of violence, pointing to conflict within groups such as the Junky Funky Kids. According to the findings, factional infighting has been linked to a significant number of killings, particularly in areas including Steenberg and Muizenberg.
Researchers state that fragmentation should be understood as an ongoing structural process reshaping how gangs organise and compete, with implications for both the scale and unpredictability of violence.
Recent incidents highlight the intensity of the violence on the ground. In Mitchells Plain, a mass shooting at the Hazeldene taxi rank left two people dead and five others injured, including three children, while separate gang-related killings were also reported, with suspects fleeing and no arrests made.
According to police portfolio committee chairperson Ian Cameron, 36 people were killed and 47 attempted murders recorded across Cape Town in just over a week between March 30 and April 5.
Cameron said the response must be “intelligence-led and prosecution-led”, adding that it was “not enough to put more boots on the ground and hope for the best”.
He also raised concerns about the pace of arrests, saying “very few arrests have been made” and warning that weapons and drugs “are still flowing”.
Beyond the Cape Flats, the report notes an expansion of gang-linked activity into areas such as Saldanha Bay, where local dynamics intersect with broader illicit economies, including drug trafficking networks.
The report further identifies early warning signs of escalating conflict, including incidents of stone-throwing involving children across territorial boundaries, which in some contexts have been associated with recruitment pathways and may precede more serious violence.
On the policy front, the report cautions that enforcement-focused responses, including the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), are unlikely on their own to produce sustained reductions in violence. While a visible security presence may contribute to short-term stabilisation, the report states that it does not address underlying drivers of gang activity.
However, civil society organisation Fight Against Crime South Africa (FACSA) has expressed support for the deployment, cautioning against drawing conclusions at an early stage.
FACSA said it was “too early to judge” the intervention and that it “must be strengthened, not criticised into failure”.
At the same time, the organisation said the deployment would need “stronger coordination, increased resources and greater operational intensity” to be effective.
FACSA also called on communities to assist law enforcement, stating that “information saves lives”.
There is also ongoing debate about the extent to which enforcement alone can address gang violence. GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said “gang culture will persist until the state improves conditions on the Cape Flats”.
The report similarly emphasises that enforcement alone is unlikely to resolve the crisis, calling for intelligence-led policing, strengthened investigative capacity and a coordinated response that addresses the social and economic drivers of gang violence.
It adds that monitoring internal divisions and shifts in alliances may help authorities anticipate areas at heightened risk of violence.