There was a crime scene in Van Der Meulen Street earlier this month.
Bo-Kaap Neighbourhood Watch is calling for stronger police presence in the area after yet another shooting this month.
Last Saturday in the Bo-Kaap, videos from security cameras went viral showing a group of men allegedly fleeing from another group of men while gunshots could be heard.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said that no complaints nor cases were reported to local police regarding the incident and confirmed they are aware of the videos that went viral.
“We are aware of ongoing conflict between rival gangs in the Bo-Kaap area and as such have heightened visibility in the area as well as initiated profiling of people of interest,” said Lieutenant Colonel Pojie.
Bo-Kaap Neighbourhood Watch chairman, Ebrahiem Christians, said tension is brewing between two rival gangs but that nothing is being done by the City of Cape Town to stop the criminal activity.
“We have escalated this on numerous occasions to SAPS and Law Enforcement. With all these incidents we have very little visible policing in the area. The City is more worried about tourism safety, which have no benefit to our community, than what they care about the safety of the residents of Bo-Kaap,” Mr Christians said.
“We had peace talks a year ago with these the rival gangs with some role players involved and the peace lasted until something flared it again. We have a social problem in Bo-Kaap which is not being addressed also. We need to look at how we as a community can fight this together with the law enforcement agencies like SAPS and Metro leading the way. When it was festive season we had a huge number of Metro Police and Law Enforcement officers in the area to protect the tourists, that season is gone now and so is these officers as well,” he said.
In 2022 the Atlantic Sun reported on a gang-related murder (“Man, 20, killed in Bo-Kaap shooting”, December 1, 2022) and three months later another killing took place in the historically rich area (“Homeless man found dead on Bo-Kaap street”, March 9, 2023).
Earlier this month, a man was allegedly shot dead by the owner of security company CTS, (“Fatal shooting in Bo-Kaap divides residents,” February 7) and following the recent shooting, residents expressed their concern on a Bo-Kaap Facebook group about the increase in criminal activity but refused to speak on the record.
Megan Kassiem, a resident of Bo-Kaap that led the campaign to bring in private security, said the visibility of security officers brought down the crime.
“I prefer to pay a private security knowing they around makes me sleep better at night. At the moment especially with load shedding, one needs to be alert and watch your car and your street. We need Law enforcement or a Metro police mobile station in Bo-Kaap,” Ms Kassiem said.
Francine Higham, the Ward 77 councillor, said she is deeply concerned about the shooting that took place.
“Follow up operations were conducted on Sunday and a number of arrests have been made. I want to thank all safety and authorities who responded and who have continued to patrol the area since then. This shooting is the second one in February and I'm aware that these gangs are residing and operating from informal settlements in the area, in addition to other properties in the Bo-Kaap,” Ms Higham said.
Ms Higham said the City will have to proceed with a eviction application in order to secure the unlawfully occupied properties.
“I will continue to engage with these responsible departments and the City's legal team to explore all options to secure these properties and ensure that they contribute positively to the surrounding community,” she said.
“Furthermore, together with the Bo-Kaap Neighbourhood Watch, we have been proactively trying to request a meeting with SAPS, who have the primary mandate on safety and security, to discuss the concerns around crime and gangsterism in the area.”
At the time of going to print, the City, Law Enforcement and the Bo-Kaap Civic Ratepayers’ Association had not responded to this latest criminal activity.