President Jacob Zuma has called for “extraordinary action” in fighting gang violence in Cape Town.
|||Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma has called for “extraordinary action” in fighting gang violence, but has not elaborated on exactly what form it should take.
This comes after many calls from the DA for the deployment of the army to gang-ridden areas.
While campaigning for the 2014 election in Bloemfontein over the weekend, Zuma said extraordinary action should be taken in the fight against gangsterism.
ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said the president was addressing issues of justice and how repeat offenders should serve longer sentences.
He said: “The president was responding to complaints about repeat offenders who have been arrested but return to society and commit the same crimes.
“We need to take a closer look at justice and ensure that these people don’t get bail and are kept in prison much longer.”
Khoza added that Zuma would be taking all the complaints back to the government, which would need to come up with a strategic way of combating drugs and gangs.
Khoza said the spate of shootings and the rise in gang violence in Manenberg were not political issues and therefore the police needed to come up with their own way of dealing with them.
The past two months have seen the death toll rise as rivalry between the two major gangs in the area - the Hard Livings and the Americans - has intensified. Thirteen people have been killed and 17 wounded.
Residents voiced their frustration last week when they marched to gang hot spots pleading to the gangs to stop killing innocent people and make peace with each other.
Manenberg resident Valentia van der Berg, who took part in the march, said: “It’s stressful. You can’t go to work like you used to because you have to keep your children indoors all day.”
Police confirmed that two policemen were attacked while responding to a shooting in Sonderend Street on Saturday.
A man shot at the pair, who escaped unharmed. A suspect has been arrested.
* Last week, metro police seized more than R110 000 worth of drugs such as tik, heroin, mandrax and dagga at a flat in Nellie Court, Manenberg Avenue.
Six men aged between 30 and 47 were arrested and will appear in court soon.
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Cape Argus