A City of Cape Town Law Enforcement officer is in a stable condition after he was stabbed in the head after chasing down skelms.
The officer and two colleagues were patrolling Beach Road in Woodstock on Tuesday when they were flagged down by a victim of a robbery that had just occurred.
The officers spotted the suspects and gave chase and caught one of them on the MyCiTi bus route under the Lower Church Street bridge.
However, mense living at an illegal informal settlement nearby started attacking the outnumbered officers, stabbing one in the forehead.
Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says they also tried to steal the officer’s firearm but he fought them off.
“He was then transported to receive medical attention for the laceration on his forehead.
“The officer is currently in stable condition and this follows a string of recent attacks on the City of Cape Town in the line of duty,” Smith said.
Uwatch Woodstock secretary Rob Marshall says crime has spiked due to the numerous informal settlements that have sprouted on Prasa land.
“Earlier this month, a murder of a male in the same area demonstrated the urgent need for an intervention by the landowners to secure their assets so they are no longer a source of violence and gangsterism.
“Our residents often use these same roads to access the Woodstock drop-off facility or to commute to the many businesses in the area,” he explained.
“Informal settlements have moved further towards the N1 which has in turn resulted in crime also moving. Recently a cyclist was assaulted as they used the Woodstock turn-off.”
Marshall says they’ve been calling on Prasa for years to intervene.
“They have committed to demolishing one of the buildings hosting informal settlements in August 2023, but this has yet to happen,” he told the Daily Voice.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za