- Recent gang-related shootings in Lotus River have led to calls from local leaders for urgent action to improve public safety and restore service delivery.
- Ward 65 councillor Donovan Nelson emphasized how gang violence disrupts essential services, including sewer inspections, and puts City employees’ lives at risk.
- Mayco member JP Smith and provincial parliament member Ferlon Christians condemned the ongoing gang warfare in Cape Town, stressing the need for stronger law enforcement to address the violence.
Multiple shootings in Lotus River last week, in which City contractors also came under fire during gang crossfire, have local leaders calling for urgent intervention.
Last week, Ward 65 councillor Donovan Nelson called an urgent community meeting to address gang-violence in the area.
According to Nelson, the shootings are interfering with service delivery in the community.
“These brazen acts of violence put the lives of City employees at risk and directly impact essential service delivery in our community.”
Last week, City’s water and sanitation teams conducted critical sewer inspections in Lotus River when they were forced to flee due to gang-related shootings.
“Our teams were on site to address ongoing sewer spills that have been affecting residents and their withdrawal due to safety concerns means that much-needed repairs and maintenance will now be delayed,” said Nelson.
“When staff safety is compromised, service delivery suffers, and ultimately, it is the residents who are left to endure the consequences. I strongly condemn this lawlessness and call on the Grassy Park Police Station leadership and the Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) to urgently escalate this matter by requesting additional resources from provincial commissioner Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile.”
He called for the safety and unity of communities. “I urge all residents to stand together against criminality and cooperate with law enforcement to restore safety in our communities.”
Confirming that “gang warfare” has broken out in Lotus River since the start of February, Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said gang violence seems to be increasing each year.
“More gang warfare broke out earlier this afternoon (7 February) in Lotus River, leaving at least three people shot, with two people taken to hospital and another declared deceased,” he said.
“The first shooting occurred in Dove Road, and while services responded to the scene, in what seems as an action in retaliation, multiple shots were fired across a field in Erica Way as gangs battled it out against each other.”
Smith pointed out while police and law enforcement agencies were making arrests, the same suspects often end up back on the street days later.
“Our services have been going all out, and while we arrest suspects every single day and take around five firearms per week off these streets and hand them over to police, too often the same suspects are returned into the very same communities just days later, ready to arm themselves again and continue their reign of terror,” he said.
“As gang warfare continues to plunge our communities into terror, one needs to seriously question the reasons. Even with dedicated police anti-gang units, how is it that instead of reducing the gang onslaught, it continues to increase year after year?”
He described the area as very volatile.
“The area itself is still highly volatile, with our officers still responding to additional shooting incidents, but we need everyone’s help.”
Meanwhile, commenting on multiple gang-related shootings across Cape Town last week, member of the provincial parliament Ferlon Christians said it was not normal for people to live in such fear.
“During the past week, 17 people lost their lives and 12 were injured in violent attacks that raged across various parts of Cape Town,” he shared in a statement on Monday 10 February.
The gang-related shootings occurred in Lotus River, Ravensmead, Delft and Philippi.
“On Thursday 6 February, a lone gunman opened fire on a group of people attending a memorial service on the corner of Buck Road and 6th Avenue, Lotus River.
“Eight people were hospitalised after the attack. It is alleged that they were attending the memorial service of a known gang leader,” he commented.
“Our people are burdened and sickened by violent death that has become common place in our society.
“Death by the gun on our streets is not normal, and the way of life it imposes on our people, is not normal.”
