Cape Town 'living through a human catastrophe'

The Western Cape is "living through a human catastrophe", according to South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO).

The organisation says the high rates of crime and gun violence reveals a province where fear has become a permanent reality.

SANCO said in a statement: "The Western Cape is not merely experiencing high crime. It is living through a human catastrophe.

"Children grow up recognising the sound of gunfire more than they recognise hope, while women are hunted by predators as the system meant to protect them continues to fail"

SANCO highlighted the alarming levels of gender-based violence in the province.

“Women are murdered inside taxis, assaulted in homes, raped on their way to work, and terrorised in areas where policing is thin and help arrives too late,” SANCO said.

Children, too, are caught in the crisis, being recruited into gangs, trafficked, sexually violated, or caught in the crossfire while walking to school.

The organisation said the combination of mass shootings, youth assassins, extortion, gang wars, rural robberies, and drug-related violence is unique to the Western Cape.

“We are experiencing every category of violent crime at once, with communities abandoned to face the ambush alone,” SANCO said.

Illegal firearms are fuelling the surge in violence. Parliamentary reports confirm that 193 firearms, including AK-47s, traced back to Namibia, have been recovered from crime scenes in the province. 

SANCO also criticised provincial leadership for failing to act on warnings about crime, pointing the finger at Premier Alan Winde.

They added: “A province in crisis was denied the truth,” SANCO said, referring to a Police Ombudsman report received by the Premier in November 2022 but kept hidden for three years.

“Political leadership chose silence, and that silence has cost lives.”

Communities are increasingly left to fend for themselves.

While the organisation does not advocate vigilantism, it warned that the province is being pushed to the edge.

SANCO called on the Premier, the Police Ombudsman, and the Police Commissioner to make full submissions to the Madlanga Commission, and demanded coordinated national and provincial action to dismantle firearm smuggling networks, restore drug-prevention structures, and rebuild community safety systems.