‘COLOURED LIVES MATTER’

THE rise in crime in predominantly Coloured communities across the country, particularly in the Western Cape, has led to the call for the South African Defence Force (SANDF) to patrol the streets.

Western Cape Provincial Finance Minister Deidré Baartman revealed that the province remains the epicentre of South Africa's gang crisis.

"Nowhere do we see the far-reaching effects of crime more visibly than in the scourge of gang violence," Baartman said during her budget address on 30 September .

According to Baartman, gang violence has reached alarming proportions, with the province accounting for the vast majority of gang-related deaths nationwide.

“Gang-related killings remain one of the most severe safety crises in our Province.

In 2024/25, there were 4 467 murders, of which 882 were gang related.

The Western Cape, though home to less than 12 per cent of South Africa's population, accounts for nearly 90 percent of the country's gang-related murders,” she said.

This has led to Patriotic Alliance (PA) MP Liam Jacobs calling on the government to deploy the army to patrol gang-stricken communities.

He said: “Coloured lives matter. When I say 'Coloured lives matter', it does not imply that only Coloured lives matter.

"We are saying that Coloured lives matter too. And it is these Coloured lives that are being lost on a daily basis. They're lost through gun violence, gang violence, every single day. And the very system that is supposed to protect us, is failing."

He called on President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration to urgently authorise the deployment of the army to stabilise volatile communities across the Cape Flats.

He added: “All we are asking of this system is peace. That is why we are calling on the national government to step in and bring the army into our areas.

"Because it is going to be impossible to make sure that we have long-term healing if we don’t have stability.”

Jacobs announced that the PA and community members would stage a mass demonstration on 1 December, wearing black in remembrance of those killed in gang violence.