‘It’s like they are living in prison’- Hanover Park residents live in fear amid ongoing gang violence

• Gang violence in Hanover Park is keeping local residents imprisoned in their homes.
• Since the beginning of September, three people have been killed.
• Police are patrolling the area regularly.

Residents are on tenterhooks amid ongoing gang warfare in Hanover Park on the Cape Flats, and some are even too scared to hang their laundry out to dry.

“We are tired of these senseless killings where innocent women and children are being killed by these gangsters who have no heart. Our people are living in fear. Our children can’t walk or play in the area because these shootings happen randomly during the day and at night. What is even more sad is that these gangsters are now killing women and children. It is unacceptable and this makes me very angry,” Hanover Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) spokesperson Kashiefa Mohammad said.

According to the CPF, three people were shot dead in gang battles since the start of September. In addition, six attempted murder cases were brought to the forum’s attention.

In the latest killing, the body of a 17-year-old girl was found on an open field in Greenturf Road, Hanover Park last Sunday. Philippi police opened a murder case. 

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said police were called to the crime scene. The teen had open head and body wounds.

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“The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack is yet to be established. A murder case was registered for investigation. The unknown suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested,” Twigg said.

Twigg added that “the possibility that the incident might be gang-related will be investigated”.

According to the CPF, a 43-year-old mother was also gunned down last week Wednesday when she and her boyfriend were walking in the area. 

Mohammad added:

“It’s not right, children should not be growing up without their mothers! We are tired of these killings we are tired of having to bury innocent people killed in crossfires,” Mohammad added.   

Twigg confirmed the incident.

“A 43-year-old female was declared dead by medical personnel while a 29-year-old man who also sustained gunshot wounds, was transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment,” Twigg said.

He added that a 20-year-old suspect was shot dead last weekend in Turflyn Walk.

Philippi have put in place an operational plan. 

“We can confirm that SAPS and other law enforcement [agencies] are deployed to the area,” Twigg said.

Resident Washiela Samuels told News24 she was waiting for justice to be served after her son, Ashraf, was gunned down by a member of the Ghettos gang seven years ago. 

“I see my son’s killer every day. Every day I’m reminded of that fatal day and how that gangster shot my son when he was walking back home. I’m so sad. A mother never forgets the brutal way her child had to leave this earth and for me to still see this killer roam the streets, a free man, just upsets me so much,” an emotional Samuels said. 

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She added that even though seven years have passed by since her son was killed, her family is still trying to come to terms with it.

“My three children are still not over the death. They are not doing well but because of the way they have been brought up, it’s not in them to avenge Ashraf’s death.”

“My daughter went to go and mourn her brother’s death on a farm in Philippi for two years because she still can’t get over his death. He took his last breath while in her arms,” Samuels added. 

She says he constantly checks her WhatsApp chat groups to determine if it’s safe for her and the children to go outside. 

She added:

Community activist Yaseen Johaar said “it’s more like a drug war that’s happening in the area where new gangs are starting up. “Recruiting is taking place and gangs start investing in the youth by moulding them to become part of the gang,” he said.

He warned that most youth lacked love and care in their own homes and that they found belonging and appreciation in gangs.

“Gang violence on the Cape Flats is highly politicised and we need serious intervention to curb these killings,” Johaar said.

Even though there are visible LEAP officer patrols every day, it has done little to stop the gangs from continuing their gun battles in the streets.

Recently, Johaar said, gang members started targeting family members of their targets.

“In most cases the target that the gangs are trying to kill know that there is a hit out on them, so they go into hiding and this is, unfortunately, where their family members become the targets instead.

“There are instances where random people are caught in crossfires where the gunman decides there’s a target and as he’s getting ready to shoot, a child or an adult maybe walks past and gets hit by the bullet that’s meant for someone else,” Johaar added. He said people in Hanover Park didn’t have the luxury of staying indoors every day.

“Washing needs to be hung out on the line, people need to go out to work so they can put food on the table, children want to be outside and need to go to school. The community are living in fear, it’s like they are living in prison in their own community because we know that the possibility of getting hit by a stray bullet is very high. It’s scary living in these conditions,” he said.

The Alcardo Andrews Foundation (Moms Move 4 Justice) in Hanover Park said gang violence in the area has affected the work they are trying to do in the community.

“The organisation deals with women who have lost family members to the hands of gangsters and in most cases, they come to us for help and guidance. We also give out 600 portions of food daily, and sometimes they cannot come to us because of the shooting in the area,” the organisation’s founder, Avril Andrews, said.

The organisation hands out the food parcels on a nearby field daily and the gangsters themselves sand in line.

“I remember there was a gangster who saw us coming to the field with the food and he ran up to me to say I must serve him first because the gangs might start shooting. I very calmly said to him he will not intimidate me and that there are a lot of people who are hungry and need to eat. I think ever since that incident, these gangs don’t bother to shoot in parts of the area where we stand and give out the food. Our work cannot just stop because of the gangsters in the area, because there are a lot of people in the community who are struggling” Andrews added.