Dear Stellenbosch member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety, municipal manager and Cloetesville police, I am writing this letter on behalf of the concerned residents of Cloetesville, who are living in constant fear and uncertainty due to ongoing and increasing incidents of gun violence in our area.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The situation has become unbearable. Daily shootings have turned our once-peaceful neighbourhood into a war zone. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Innocent lives are being lost; most recently a 10-year-old boy was tragically shot. This is not an isolated case.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many innocent people, including children, have been caught in the crossfire of senseless violence over the past few months. Our community is traumatised. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents are afraid to leave their homes for work, especially now during the school holidays when children are at home. People are too scared to walk in the streets, and our children no longer feel safe in their own yards.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is no way to live.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have made countless pleas for assistance, but it feels as though our cries have fallen on deaf ears. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cloeteville community cannot wait any longer while more lives are lost. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We urgently request the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to Cloetesville to stabilise the situation and support local police in restoring safety and order. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current response is simply not enough to address the scale of this crisis.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are calling on you, as the leading officials responsible for the safety of all residents, to take this matter to the highest level. The time has come for decisive action. We also urge the Stellenbosch mayor, Law Enforcement, and the police to treat this as a state of emergency.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our community cannot survive more loss, more trauma and more fear. We await your urgent response and action.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONCERNED CLOETESVILLE RESIDENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n EMAIL<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Many innocent people, including children, have been caught in the crossfire of senseless violence over the past few months. The Cloesteville community is traumatised.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":34720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"24","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"Ya\u00ebl Malgas","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"'Our community cannot survive more loss, trauma'","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[7911,93,7882,7878],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-265452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-crime","tag-featured","tag-letters-to-the-editor","tag-municipal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/submission-thank-you-next-steps-letter-icon.svg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":264596,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/readers-letter-ii-sons-of-the-soil-stand-up-against-hunger-violence-and-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":265452,"position":0},"title":"READER’S LETTER II Sons of the Soil stand up against hunger, violence and fear","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"4 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"We are not just speaking out \u2013 we are taking action.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Opinion"","block_context":{"text":"Opinion","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jeugdag optog in Cloetesville, 2025.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cloetesville-optog.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":265979,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/lesersbrief-wie-trek-werklik-voordeel-hieruit\/","url_meta":{"origin":265452,"position":1},"title":"LESERSBRIEF: Wie trek werklik voordeel hieruit?","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"24 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Die Stellenbosch-munisipaliteit se begroting vir 2025-'26 wys dat R59,8\u202fmiljoen vir Cloetesville geoormerk is. Op die oog af lyk dit na 'n ruim belegging \u2013 veral omdat R29,9\u202fmiljoen bestee gaan word om 'n derde 66\u202fkV-transformator by die Cloetesville-substasie te installeer. Maar kyk 'n bietjie dieper en dit word gou duidelik dat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Opinion"","block_context":{"text":"Opinion","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stock image of someone writing an letter to the editor. Image created with AI, Toqan.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/letter-to-the-editor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/letter-to-the-editor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/letter-to-the-editor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/letter-to-the-editor.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76680,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/corridor-project-tackles-congestion\/","url_meta":{"origin":265452,"position":2},"title":"READER’S LETTER II Corridor project tackles congestion","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"2 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"For years, traffic congestion has plagued Stellenbosch, threatening mobility, the quality of life, economic vitality, and the heritage character of this historic town. Despite years of community input, policy commitments and detailed planning, little meaningful action has been taken. One of the most promising solutions - the Adam Tas Corridor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adam-Tas-Corridor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adam-Tas-Corridor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adam-Tas-Corridor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adam-Tas-Corridor.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76679,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/lesersbrief-hou-amptenare-verantwoordelik\/","url_meta":{"origin":265452,"position":3},"title":"LESERSBRIEF: ‘Hou amptenare verantwoordelik’","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"2 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Ek verwys na die berig \"App\u00e8l kom oor gat in Birdstraat\" (Eikestadnuus, 24\u2009April). Die berig is eensydig soos talle ander berigte wat al geplaas is. Wat die Stellenbosch-munisipaliteit nie verklaar nie, is dat hy die saak met koste verloor het. D\u00edt beteken ons as belastingbetalers moet 'n aansienlike bedrag opdok.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-brotin-biswas-158640-518543.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Eikestadnuus","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265452"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=265452"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=265452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}