63 CHILD MURDERS INNIE CAPE

AT LEAST 63 children have been murdered in the Western Cape in just five months, with gang violence named as the primary driver of the killings.

This was revealed during a police presentation to the Western Cape Legislature’s standing committee on social development on Tuesday.

Major-General Luyanda Damoyi presented statistics covering the period from 1 April to 31 August.

The worst-affected areas include Kraaifontein, Philippi East, Delft, Nyanga, and Mfuleni, along with Samora Machel, Elsies River, Bishop Lavis, Ravensmead, and Gugulethu.

In recent weeks, the murders three-month-old Moegsien Isaacs in Bontehuewel and Wallacedene meisie Esmine Franke, 11, have made headlines.  

Damoyi said: “During the period April 1 to August 31, a total of 63 children were murdered in the Western Cape.

“These are operational stats, so during auditing, they might change.”

He said children aged 15 to 17 accounted for 71 percent of the murders during the five months, while 11 percent were between 11 and 14 years old.

Eleven percent were aged up to five, and six percent were aged 6 to 10.

Damoyi said that gang violence was behind 22 percent of the murders. 

This comes after police teams discovered 19 firearms, an assortment of 1500 rounds of ammunition, 3 gun safes, 26 magazines, a stun grenade, silencer and shooting practice target board concealed in cooler boxes and safes in a house in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain.

Mitchells Plain CPF Public Relations Officer Linda Jones said: “As the CPF we welcome this initiative taken by our Law Enforcement agencies but this is just a drop in the ocean we believe amidst this great break through the killings continue. 

“We are grateful for these operations and want to plead please arrest these gang leaders, keep them for 48 hours, get their profiles prepared and keep them behind bars. 

“Appoint special detective units to work on this. Get the most experienced guys. So often, statements are incomplete and they don’t make sure the docket has all the information before it is presented to court.

“We are having too many provisional withdrawals due to little evidence. Delays in reports is what hampers our courts.”