11 People Killed in Cape Town Just Hours After Police Minister Admits No Plan to Fight Gangs

Wave of Bloodshed Grips Cape Town as 11 People Are Killed in a Single Night

CAPE TOWN – The battle against organised crime in Cape Town has reached a terrifying new level, with a devastating night of violence leaving 11 people dead in separate shootings on Tuesday. The bloodshed came just hours after Police Minister Firoz Cachalia admitted that the government has no comprehensive plan to deal with the rampant gang violence plaguing the city.

The grim sequence of events began just minutes after Cachalia had concluded a community meeting at Mfuleni Police Station, where residents had shared harrowing accounts of living under the control of powerful gangs. As the minister’s motorcade left the area, the first attack occurred about 15km away in Philippi’s Browns Farm. A 48-year-old taxi owner was gunned down, suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was declared dead at the scene by medical personnel.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the murder. “The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested. The motive for the attack is yet to be determined.”

Shortly after, another young man was killed in the Siyahlala informal settlement, also in Philippi. “Police members attended to a complaint of a shooting and upon arrival on the scene, they found the body of a 21-year-old male who sustained gunshot wounds to his body,” Twigg said. “The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation, and Nyanga detectives are investigating both murders.”

Multiple Shootings Rock Kraaifontein and Other Areas

The violence was not confined to one area. In Kraaifontein, four women were killed in Wallacedene in two separate shootings that occurred just 10 minutes apart. Around 23:30, two women, aged 19 and 25, were gunned down in Molefe Street, and another person was wounded. A mere 10 minutes later, two more women, both in their 20s, were shot dead in Taleman Street. Police have not ruled out the possibility that the two incidents are connected.

Further shootings across the city claimed more lives, with two young men, aged 20 and 22, found dead in Eikendal on the corner of 9th Avenue and Verster Street. Additional shootings took place in Vrygrond, Mitchells Plain, and Kewtown, bringing the total number of fatalities for a single night to 11.

Community leaders in the affected areas expressed their despair. Mawethu Sisila, a CPF member in Kraaifontein, said the bloodshed had become unbearable. “Every day we hear someone has been shot, it has to stop,” he said, adding that residents are scared of criminals and no longer trust the police. “We do not know how this will be addressed.”

Calls for State of Emergency and Broader Policing Powers

In a dramatic appeal, ActionSA MP Dereleen James called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a state of emergency in the Western Cape. James handed a letter directly to Ramaphosa in Parliament on Tuesday, just moments before his question-and-answer session. She highlighted the tragic number of young lives lost to the violence. “Sixty-three children have been murdered in recent months,” she said.

James also made a powerful plea on behalf of the public. "On behalf of the people, please declare a state of emergency in the Western Cape."

Residents and civic leaders have been vocal in their demands, repeatedly calling for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to be deployed and for a partial lockdown in the most gang-ridden communities. They argue that the SAPS is simply unable to cope with the scale of the violence.

At the community engagement in Mfuleni earlier in the day, residents painted a grim picture of life under gang control. They spoke of shattered dreams, broken families, and a society paralysed by the brazen acts of criminal gangs. Linda Jones, a spokesperson for the Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF), noted that the gangs do not even spare government officials. “These gangs don’t even spare prosecutors, magistrates or police members,” she said. “We need other alternatives.”

Police Minister Cachalia himself acknowledged the severe limitations of the police force. He admitted that the SAPS lacks the resources and intelligence capacity needed to dismantle the powerful and organised gang syndicates. "The truth is, the capabilities required for intelligence-driven operations to defeat gang violence are not fully in place," he said.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has been a strong advocate for giving the City of Cape Town more policing powers. He is scheduled to meet with Minister Cachalia on Thursday to demand these greater powers, arguing that the current 5% conviction rate for gang and gun crimes is "a broken system."

On Tuesday, the City of Cape Town celebrated the graduation of over 700 new metro officers, who will begin their deployment across the city in the coming weeks. This marks a historic first, as the new deployment includes a dedicated neighbourhood policing presence for every ward. "The time has come for more policing powers – specifically to investigate crime and build dockets, so that we can ensure the 400 guns we take off the streets annually lead to actual convictions and removal of criminals from the streets of long-suffering communities,” Hill-Lewis said.