Mitchells Plain: a community under siege with 50 shootings recorded in a week

A resident in Mitchells Plain asked this week in a Whatsapp group, 'What is happening in our neigbourhood'. This message summed up the anger and frustration, but also the helplessness of a community, trapped in a vortex of violence that it has not seen in its 50-year history.

In just in one week between 25 and 31 August, Mitchells Plain recorded more than 50 shootings, ushering in a bloody continuation of violence into September. The organisation Fight Against Crime South Africa (FACSA),  which monitors crime in the area, said 26 people were declared code blue (deceased) and 20 code red (critical) in that week. That amounts to an average of seven shootings per day, with two bodies being collected by forensics daily.

FACSA said it is deeply disturbed by the ongoing violence and how it has escalated in less than a month.

“Violence in Beacon Valley has increased dramatically and we urge the Government of National Unity (GNU) to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) within our communities as a force multiplier or stabilizer. We need order within our communities.”

The organisation also congratulated SAPS on the 19 guns confiscated in Mitchells Plain this week. 

Led by an intelligence operation, cops busted a house in Oak Way, Weltrevrede Estate, Lentegeur. During the search 19 firearms, 1 500 rounds of ammunition, three gun safes, 26 magazines, a stun grenade, a silencer, and a shooting practice target board were found stored in cooler boxes and safes.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed there were no arrests but that an inquiry docket was opened.

The Cape Argus reported that the house is allegedly linked to the Fancy Boys gang, believed to be locked in ongoing rivalry gang warfare. It is further understood that the house was under surveillance for some time by intelligence teams.

According to a well-placed source, there are different gangs fighting within Mitchells Plain.

“The Fancy Boys and Firm are fighting, the Nice Times and Mongrels, it’s basically all the gangs fighting amongst each other over drugs and turf. On Monday we had six people who were shot. One dead and five injured. A day before that we had two shootings in one road, Cricket Street, Beacon Valley. They shot someone code blue, the scene was just cleared when another person was shot in the same road.”

Retired police Brigadier and former Mitchells Plain station commander Cass Goolam, often referred to as “The Community Commander, or People’s Commander,” offered a sobering take on the persistent crime challenges facing the community he served for decades.

Goolam described the dire situation not as a mere issue, but as a “siege” on the community, one that requires a unique and urgent response.

“To truly understand the crime situation in Mitchells Plain, one must look at its historical roots. The suburb's origins, established for communities forcibly removed during the apartheid era, left deep socio-economic scars, creating an environment where systemic inequality and disadvantage flourished. This legacy has woven a complex tapestry of crime, and solutions must be just as multi-layered, blending social, economic, and legal strategies with the wisdom and agency of the community itself.”

Goolam stressed that combating this siege means addressing its various facets simultaneously. 

He believes that tackling the scourge of drugs necessitates a dual approach of enforcement and rehabilitation. As he previously told the Weekend Argus, “You can't come into this community with conventional thinking. People want to know that you are always available, that you are just a phone call away.”

This is something Goolam said he wished the powers that be could realise. 

“When I see what is happening in my community, my legs literally shiver. I want to get up and serve there once again, I yearn to be back, to help my community. It takes leaders to go directly to the gang bosses, the drug dealers and have a talk with them. You also need comprehensive drug awareness campaigns, accessible treatment programmes, and support for recovering addicts, these go hand in hand with targeted action against dealers and syndicates.”

The Brigadier remains optimistic about the future. He believes that through genuine partnership, sustained investment, and unwavering hope, Mitchells Plain can transform from a community under siege to a place where “safety and dignity are not privileges, but the birthright of every resident.”

Residents say the daily toll has left them living in fear. “People’s lives are in danger, the children cannot play outside, do you know how this affects the small children? Our children cannot live like kids. People are now inside their houses before sunset.”

Crime fighter Veronique Benji Williams added: “We cannot blame the government for the way the gangsters are acting, as an individual you must know what is right and what is wrong. However this does come down to the lack of opportunities for our young children.

“Our mothers and fathers, many of them work hard to put food on the table, and often don’t have money for studies, but this child is so good at school. They don’t get bursaries when applying, and end up being at home. 

“Then you get those who are good with their hands, who have the knowledge in plumbing, painting, welding, but don’t have papers, there is probably just one accredited place to help these youngsters, so what ends up happening? The gang leaders start to feed our children. They feel as if they are being cared for financially. We need to start investing in our children and their opportunities.”

The Cape Flats Safety Forum chairperson, Abie Isaacs, agreed, and said issues like unemployment and social conditions play a huge role in gangsterism. “Gang turf is one of the reasons and there are gangs everywhere, so we are concerned with the amount of shootings.”

National Assembly Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police Ian Cameron described the situation as horrific. “Within a 48-hour weekend there was a minimum of 10 murders, just in Mitchells Plain. The situation is really very bad and the rest of the Cape Flats are just as bad. There is not enough resources and  the problem is when you do send resources you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, so it’s also not fair to those other communities. 

“The big thing is, police is fighting blind, they don’t have the intelligence structures that they desperately need and many of the more specialised units like the AGU and Flying Squads would tell you they fight blind, they would tell you if they don’t pay their own informers they won’t have any intelligence to work on. Though there are successes like the 19 firearms recovered, that should be welcomed and acknowledged, but the fight has definitely not been won.”

Cameron called on the SAPS to give more policing powers to the City and Province. “It’s such logic, I don’t understand why they wouldn’t do, the only reason that stands out to me is that it’s political, they don’t want to let power go, but it shouldn’t be seen that way, it should be seen as a force multiplier, as a way of making it easier for SAPS. Start with allowing the City to investigate gang related gun offences, allow them to do ballistic testing and some forensics, that would take significant pressure off SAPS, not saying that SAPS let go of the power.”

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus