About 100 people joined an anti-gang and drug march in Mitchells Plain on Sunday under the banner of People against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) G-Force. Photos: Ashraf Hendricks
“We don’t have to switch on Netflix to hear guns. We sleep, we eat, and we wake up with gun violence,” said Lynn Philips of the Cape Flats Safety Forum.
Phillips was one of over 100 people who joined an anti-gang and drug march in Mitchells Plain on Sunday.
The march was held under the banner of People against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) G-Force, a splinter group of PAGAD.
Watched over by a large police contingent, including public order police and metro cops, the protesters marched through Beacon Valley and Eastridge, suburbs where drug houses are alleged to be concentrated in Mitchells Plain.
Protesters shouted Arabic verses and slogans. They also chanted: “One merchant, one bullet; one gangster, one bullet”, and “death” to the Fancy Boys and Americans, two prominent gangs.
Members of the EFF and the PA supported the march.
Phillips said there was a lack of “political will” to deal with the issue. She also blamed absent fathers, poverty and unemployment. She said gangsters have become role models. Youngsters see flashy cars, money and nice clothing and aspire to become gangsters, she said.
Later on Sunday, three men were shot and killed in Tafelsig, the neighbouring suburb. That the killings were “gang-related has not been ruled out”, said a SAPS statement.
Last week, a person was killed and five were wounded in Beacon Valley. In July, gang violence left five people dead in Mitchells Plain. From April to August, SAPS Western Cape seized 800 illegal firearms and 679 suspects were arrested for murder, mostly gang-related.
Zainoneesa Rashid, PAGAD G-Force secretary, said the police were failing and “we need to take back our streets”.
During the march, GroundUp observed police forcing onlookers indoors. They also shut all side roads.
Before the march started, the police ordered people marching to remove their masks. Rashid said that this was dangerous as “some of these people are being targeted by gangsters”.
Rashid said that they are calling on religious leaders to join the fight against gangsterism.
Residents watch as protesters and police make their way through Mitchells Plain.
A large contingent of police, including public order police and metro police, watched over the protest.
Mitchells Plain has been plagued by gang violence for decades.
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