Please, please, please protect our community.”

This is the desperate plea of Khayamandi residents who are overwhelmed by increased crime levels in the area. A relatively small group of protesters called on law-enforcement agencies to do more to stop the ongoing violence in the township.

Members of the Khayamandi Movement for Change marched from the satellite police station in the area to the Stellenbosch Town Hall on Saturday (20 June), handing over a memorandum to Stellenbosch police and municipal law enforcement officers.

The group said the struggles Khayamandi residents face include crime, violence, drug abuse and gender-based violence, and “the daily fear that threatens the dignity and well-being of our residents”.

Outside the town hall, a speaker said shootings have become the norm.

“We are here begging for protection!” he declared. “We can’t give ourselves over to vigilantism, but the cries of our people are not being heard. We have only one message: we need your protection.”

Communal dread

Gun violence in Khayamandi has seen a steady rise, with extortion and other crime syndicates seen as a factor in the uptick.

Eikestadnuus recently reported on various fatal shootings in the township. Last week alone saw three men fatally wounded in two separate shootings.

Police officers on patrol were alerted to a shooting in Mdala Street around 09:20 last Thursday (18 June). In a shack in the neighbourhood, they found the bodies of two men – one seated in a chair, the other lying on the floor. Both had visible gunshot wounds.

Captain Nathalie Martin, spokesperson for Stellenbosch police, said the incident was preceded by another shooting last Wednesday evening (17 June).

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Again, officers on patrol were notified of a shooting in Nkanini informal settlement around 21:30.

“On their arrival at the scene, they were met by a group of people standing outside a shack, where the victim was pointed out to the officers. They saw the door of the shack had been forced open,” Martin related, adding that the man was found dead on the floor.

On Monday 8 June, at 13:50, three gunmen opened fire on a taxi driver and his young passenger. The 12-year-old boy was shot in the leg as they fled the attack.

Between Friday 23 and Saturday 24 May five separate shootings in the township left seven dead. The investigation has since been taken over by the Western Cape’s Serious Violent Crime detectives.

Bloodbath

“What is happening here in Khayamandi is much like Cloetesville, Langrug and Klapmuts,” a speaker told the protesters. “We are here to voice our pain. Enough! We have had enough of the bloodshed!”

He told of mothers called to scenes to find the lifeless bodies of their adult children, of countless funerals and a general lack of police resources.

In its memorandum, the Khayamandi Movement for Change demanded an increase in visible policing and more police personnel in Khayamandi. It also called for the establishment of a local safety task team, interventions at known crime hotspots, improved lighting and other safety infrastructure, an expansion of CCTV and SMART Community Safety Systems, and the adoption of a community safety summit in Khayamandi.

The group also committed themselves to working with law-enforcement agencies, promoting social cohesion and encouraging responsible citizenship.

Stellenbosch police said they cannot divulge operational information, but confirmed daily high-density operations are ongoing.

“Using external role-players during weekdays and weekends, with additional deployments of Law Enforcement, Traffic Services, Red Ants and more, provincial specialised and local units are jointly working together to address the serious crime in Khayamandi,” Martin said.

“No [arrests] have been achieved, yet these intelligence-driven interventions will continue unabated. We urge the community to work hand-in-hand with the police to form partnerships by reporting all crimes. The community must establish neighbourhood watches and street committees to address crime.”

Municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar said the municipality will continue supporting the police in all neighbourhoods to “enhance the overall safety network and help alleviate some of the pressure on often under-resourced and under-funded police”.

Visible policing and patrols, joint operations and access to the municipality’s 24-hour control room are the support the collaboration can depend on, he added.