It’s another tense week for Manenberg residents, after more shootings in the area over the weekend.
Suspected gang violence claimed the lives of five people in the area on Saturday.
Police say the separate incidents are all currently under investigation, and that no arrests have been made so far.
The killings follow a spate of mass shootings in Cape Town in recent weeks.
The Manenberg Community Policing Forum’s Pedro Visagie says residents are constantly living in fear.
“The situation is still volatile, the tension is so high and you can see that people feel unsafe. It [violence] won’t stop now. Kids fear for their lives when going to school. The community and neighbourhood watches are patrolling, obviously trying to take children to school”.
Meanwhile, Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety, MEC, Reagen Allen, says Police officials need to step up their efforts in combating crime.
It was confirmed on Monday that law enforcement officers had been deployed to Manenberg in support of police to stop the ongoing violence.
However, Allen says SAPS needs to put its resources to use and deploy manpower to hotspot areas.
“Between the gangs and extortion killings, SAPS have to get ducks in a row and utilize its intelligence more effectively to prevent these continued murders from happening. Greater visibility, implacable tactics and a squeeze on all these heartless criminals are amongst the immediate interventions that should be implemented”.
