- Despite launching the ‘Silence the Guns’ campaign to fight crime, Khayelitsha recently witnessed three murders.
- The community policing forum (CPF) urged residents to speak out, while police continue to investigate the incidents.
- The campaign’s goal is to raise awareness about crime, but the challenges remain immense.
Almost two weeks after the members of a community policing forum in the Khayelitsha Sub District launched the “Silence the Guns” awareness campaign in different areas in the district to fight crime, it seems to the criminals it is still business-as-usual.
On Thursday 17 October at least three murder cases occurred in separate areas in Khayelitsha.Acting chair of the CPF in the Khayelitsha Sub District Funeka Soldaat described crime in Khayelitsha as a huge problem.
She stated that even those who marched at the launch of the “Silence the Guns” campaign were not expecting things to turn overnight.
“We are on track fighting crime. Our march was part of raising awareness of the issues that are affecting us as a community, which include extortion, carjacking and killings.”
Soldaat urged the community to speak out and not to keep quiet.
Sgt Wesley Twigg said Khayelitsha officers were investigating murder cases in separate incidents on Thursday 17 October.
He said officers attended a stabbing incident at Greenpoint in Site B, Khayelitsha about 18:20, when they found an adult male with a stab wound to his back.Twigg said the victim was declared dead at the scene by medical personnel.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and arrests have yet to be made,” he said.Twigg said the officers also attended a complaint of a shooting at MM Block in Site B, about 20:15, when victims had already been rushed to a medical facility by onlookers.
“One victim was declared deceased at the medical facility,” he said, “while the other victim was receiving medical treatment. Both victims sustained gunshot wounds to their bodies. The motive for the attack has yet to be established. The suspect(s) have yet to be arrested.”
Twigg also reported that the third shooting incident had occurred about 21:30 in the Qanduqandu informal settlement in Site B, where they found a 35-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his body. He said the victim was dead at the scene by medical personnel. He said the circumstances surrounding the incident were under investigation. The suspect(s) had yet to be arrested.
