Flyers are being distributed for a shutdown in Hanover Park on Wednesday amid a spike in gang-related crimes, with residents of communities such as Hanover Park bearing the brunt of the fallout. In June 2019 an unidentified woman was found dead in a rubbish truck, while 19-year-old Gift of the Givers volunteer Ameerodien Noordien was shot and killed in gang crossfire outside his home in October 2018.

According to a flyer circulating via WhatsApp and on the ground, the Hanover Park Community will attempt to shut down all access to and from the area. No specific association is attached to the flyers.

A similar shutdown of communities on the Cape Flats occurred in September 2018, where 13 people were arrested after altercations with the SAPS.

Despite the roll-out of a national initiative in the form of an Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) in November 2018, crime is still rife in Hanover Park and the greater Cape Flats area.

And just months after its inception, the unit has already started to show cracks. On 12 June six Anti-Gang Unit officers were wounded in a raid that AGU leader Major-General Andre Lincoln says he knew nothing about. Following the attack, Lincoln called on Provincial Commissioner Khombinkosi Jula to remove two high-ranking AGU members who, according to Lincoln, planned the raid without his consent.

Daily Maverick previously reported that during the launch of the AGU in Hanover Park, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the community was living “under siege” by “criminals who have no regard for human life”.

In 2018, 83% of all recorded gang-related murders occurred in the Western Cape. Nearly half these murders were reported to the 26 police stations in gang-infested communities, including areas on the Cape Flats such as Hanover Park. The reported murder rate in stations surrounding Hanover Park, including Guguletu and Philippi, increased by more than 30% in 2018.

For years the community has demanded greater police visibility. Daily Maverick attempted to reach the Hanover Park Community Policing Forum (CPF), but was redirected to the Philippi SAPS instead. Allegedly the CPF is no longer functional, and, because Hanover Park does not have a dedicated police station, residents are forced to seek help elsewhere. Nearby SAPS stations in Athlone and Philippi are often the closest port-of-call.

On Monday, 1 July 2019 Police Minister Bheki Cele met the Western Cape Community Policing Forum’s board after members of the Mitchells Plain forum gave him 48 hours last week to come up with a solution to gang violence on the Cape Flats.

According to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, several CPFs have called for the South African National Defence Force to be deployed in the Cape Flats as “peacekeepers”. In a statement issued on 1 July, Winde rebuked Cele’s statement that the SANDF cannot assist in curbing the scourge of violence in the Cape Flats, saying:

“Any move that seeks to take back the power from gangsters and criminals, and which puts more boots on the ground, should be considered and supported.”

On Tuesday, 2 July, the City of Cape Town opted to activate its second Neighbourhood Safety Team, this time in Bonteheuwel. The team will be comprised of 100 law enforcement officers working in shifts. DM

This article was amended at 2pm on July 3, 2019.