Election week in Mitchell’s Plain has been marred by three murders in the space of two days.
Body on roof
In the latest incident, police found the body of an alleged gangster on the roof of a house. Police officers responded to a shooting incident and located an unidentified man on a residential garage roof. The victim sustained gunshot wounds and stab wounds to the body.
According to reports, the victim was initially chased and stabbed by suspects near Spine Road. He fled into the Swordfish Street property, where the suspects attempted to pull him from the yard. After the victim managed to climb onto the garage roof, the suspects accessed the roof, shot him multiple times, and fled on foot in an unknown direction. The victim was transported via ambulance to a medical facility for emergency medical treatment.
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On Tuesday, two men aged 33 and 37 were shot on the corner of Weltevreden Road and Robin Street in Rocklands, Mitchell’s Plain. It is alleged that the suspects were dropped off by a silver BMW, approached the victims, and opened fire. The incident is currently suspected to be gang-related.
Sandy Schuter, the local community policing chairperson, called on the community to stand together. “We see what is happening within the community. These are not outsiders doing this in our community, it’s your own children. We need a community to stand together now more than anything.
“For too long, the burden of safety has fallen entirely on the same dedicated faces, the neighbourhood watch members and patrollers who are out on the tarmac night after night, bearing the weight of an entire area’s security as if it were solely their responsibility. Safety cannot be outsourced, nor can it be left to a small handful of volunteers. When security is delegated to a fatigued few, criminal elements win through apathy and exhaustion,” says Schuter.
Reclaim neighbourhoods
According to Schuter, to truly reclaim their neighbourhoods, residents must shift from passive observation to active, collective ownership. “I challenge Mitchell’s Plain and Strandfontein to mobilise themselves and establish a street committee in every street in Mitchell’s Plain and Strandfontein. Criminal activity relies on blind spots, isolation, and public silence. When every road maintains a visible, active street committee keeping watch over the tarmac, the operational space for crime shrinks dramatically.
“Residents are not expected to patrol the entire suburb. True security begins at the micro level. If every household takes responsibility for its immediate doorstep and looks out for its neighbours, the entire grid strengthens overnight. Acknowledging that threats frequently originate from within our own neighbourhoods requires families and communities to drop the silence, stop shielding wrongdoing, and step up to collective accountability. By establishing a street committee on every block, we can drastically reduce crime and systematically squeeze criminal elements out of our community,” she says.
She says residents who wish to join a neighbourhood watch in the Mitchell’s Plain police precinct should contact the police and enquire about an existing neighbourhood watch in their sector.
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