Soldiers alone cannot stop Cape Flats gang violence, says DA

The DA has condemned the fatal shootings that left seven people dead and five others wounded in Tafelsig and Philippi East, saying the attacks show that military deployments alone are failing to curb gang violence on the Cape Flats.

The party said its thoughts were with the families of those killed and those injured following the two shootings on Wednesday evening.

TimesLIVE on Wednesday reported that three people were killed and two others wounded when gunmen opened fire outside a tuck shop in Tafelsig. A short while later, four more people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a house in Philippi East.

The DA said the incidents highlighted the continued grip organised criminal gangs have on communities across the Cape Flats.

Western Cape DA spokesperson on police oversight and community safety, Benedicta van Minnen, said the attacks reinforced the need for intelligence-led policing rather than relying on the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Van Minnen said acting police minister Firoz Cachalia had acknowledged that the SANDF deployment had not dismantled any gangs, something the party had repeatedly warned about.

“The DA has consistently argued that visible deployments alone cannot substitute for an effective criminal justice system.

“South Africa needs a policing strategy that focuses on gathering actionable intelligence, removing illegal firearms from circulation, strengthening specialised anti-gang units, and ensuring that dangerous criminals are successfully prosecuted and imprisoned,” Van Minnen said.

The party argued that with more than 100,000 gang members operating across the province, criminal syndicates continued to function because the chances of arrest, successful prosecution and conviction remained too low.

It called on the national government to prioritise intelligence-driven operations aimed at dismantling gang leadership and organised criminal networks.

The statement comes ahead of the DA’s anti-crime march in Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday, where the party said its leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, would call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen policing and intelligence capabilities, restore law and order, and ensure violent criminals are brought to justice.

TimesLIVE