Western Cape police are investigating two separate deadly shootings that claimed seven lives over the weekend.
In Groendal, Franschhoek, gunmen stormed a house, killing three people and wounding two others. In a suspected gang-related incident in Wesbank, Kuils River, police discovered the bodies of three women and a man, aged between 32 and 39. A seven-year-old child was injured in the shooting and is receiving medical treatment. No arrests have been made in either case.
The incidents have heightened fears about ongoing gun violence across the Cape Flats and beyond, even as the South African Defence Force (SANDF) remains deployed in violence-affected communities.
Abie Isaacs, Chairperson of the Cape Flats Safety Forum, expressed deep concern over the escalating violence. “As the Cape Flats Forum we are concerned with once again what we call the escalating gun violence and specifically related to gangs in and around the Cape Flats,” he said. He noted that gang violence has now extended beyond the Cape Flats.
Isaacs questioned the effectiveness of the SANDF deployment, which the forum had previously advocated for. Nearly two months in, he described the forces as “visitors within their own country” and said the numbers on the ground were not as promised by the President in the State of the Nation Address. “We can clearly say without a doubt that they have not been effective,” he stated.
He criticised the operations for lacking an intelligence-driven approach, saying they appeared to target “soft targets” rather than key figures, with no major arrests materialising as anticipated by communities. Isaacs highlighted issues of command and control within the South African Police Service, particularly around intelligence, and referenced the Madlanga Commission findings on police infiltration, suggesting the commission’s powers be extended to the Western Cape.
On a personal level, Isaacs admitted he does not feel safe as a Cape Flats resident. He pointed to a recent mass shooting just kilometres from his home, describing such incidents as increasingly becoming “the order of the day.”
The Cape Flats Safety Forum has had limited engagement with authorities. Isaacs said their last formal interaction was on 9 September with the acting minister. While acknowledging meetings with other civil society groups, he noted no structured engagement with police or military from his organisation regarding collaborative efforts to stabilise the area.
For the military intervention to succeed, Isaacs emphasised the need for properly intelligence-led operations, effective intelligence leadership in the Western Cape, and a shift from repeated methodologies that have failed to deliver different outcomes. He stressed that core issues of safety remain the mandate of the South African Police Service.