Kraaifontein is grappling with a surge of violence that has left 16 people dead in just six days, a wave of crime that community leaders are calling a siege.
The bloodshed began on 9 September around 23:30 when two women, aged 19 and 25, were shot and killed in Molefe Street, Wallacedene. A third woman, aged 24, was wounded in the same attack.
Just 10 minutes later another two women were shot dead in nearby Taleman Street. Police responded to reports of gunfire and found both victims inside a bedroom with gunshot wounds to the head. Paramedics declared them dead at the scene.
“The possibility that these incidents are linked is not being ruled out.”
Brig Novela Potelwa
“The possibility that these incidents are linked is not being ruled out,” said Brig Novela Potelwa of the Western Cape Provincial Commissioner’s office.
Earlier that same evening, in what appears to be a separate incident, two men were gunned down on the corner of 9th Avenue and Verster Street in Eikendal. “The suspects fled the scene and have yet to be arrested. The motives for these attacks form part of the ongoing police investigation,” Potelwa added.
Two days later, on 11 September, another grim scene unfolded in Laboheme Street, Wallacedene, where three men in their 30s were killed and their bodies set alight in what is believed to be a vigilante-style attack.
According to police spokesperson André Traut preliminary information suggests the victims were accused by community members of criminal activity. “Instead of allowing the law to take its course they were violently attacked,” he pointed out.
On Saturday evening 13 September another fatal incident occurred when a man was stabbed in the chest in the Covid informal settlement in Bloekombos. He died on arrival at the Kraaifontein Day Hospital.
The violence escalated further on Sunday 14 September with a series of brutal events in Wallacedene, which left three men dead, one wounded and a woman raped. Police reports indicate a 35-year-old man was shot and killed in the Mhongqo informal settlement around 01:00. The motive remained unclear.
Roughly an hour later, just 30 m from the initial scene, another man was shot and injured. His female companion was raped between 02:00 and 03:00. Then, at 03:14, two men aged between 25 and 30 were shot and killed not far from the earlier incidents. Two suspects, aged 25 and 26, both from Kraaifontein, are being questioned in connection with the shootings and the rape.
“They have not been charged yet,” a police spokesperson said on Sunday, “but detectives are following specific leads related to the incidents”.
Community leaders outraged
Community leaders expressed outrage at the escalating violence, calling for urgent action from the government and law enforcement. Denver Dreyer, a prominent community leader, said the murders were part of a wider shift in the Cape Town underworld, driven by the entry of powerful cartels into the local drug trade. “High-grade cocaine is flooding Cape Town, and with it comes money, money that allows gangs to obtain more weapons. This is something police need to be aware of.
“The signs are clear, and the police don’t have the capacity to stop what’s happening. Things are spinning out of control. The government must urgently assess what is going on in Kraaifontein and across the Cape Town. “People are being killed every day. We can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results. The police cannot do this alone. We need collaboration. We need to hear solutions.”
“The community is bleeding.”
Gavin Riddles
Gavin Riddles, another community leader, told TygerBurger that the area was in desperate need of more police resources, particularly as new housing developments spring up. “The community is bleeding,” he said. “This is urban terror. Things are getting worse by the day.”
Riddles added that, in addition to gang violence, many of the crimes stem from extortion.
“Foreigners are being forced to pay so-called ‘protection money’,” he explained. “But when they start hiring their own security, violence breaks out.” All stakeholders need to come to this area to see what’s really happening. Urgent talks are needed. Our constitutional rights are not being upheld in a place where the police are meant to keep us safe and secure.”
