Gugulethu residents say they are living in constant fear of being killed over protection money demanded by skollies.
They claim that while their families are trying to make a living, thugs are bymekaar extorting them.
The fearful mense spoke out after three men were brutally killed in the area on Sunday.
At the scene of the crime, roughly 40 bullet casings – marked by police cones and scattered across the street – told the story of the vicious shooting that took place in broad daylight.
Two videos of the killing made the rounds on social media on Monday.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said a small hatchback drove into NY6 at about 5.50pm when it came under fire from ouens who fled the scene in another vehicle.
“Gugulethu police have opened a triple murder docket for investigation after three men between the ages of 28 and 30 were shot and killed,” she explained.
Two of the victims died on the scene while the third passed away in hospital.
Potelwa added that the motive for the shooting is yet to be determined with detectives pursuing several leads.
In the videos, three shooters are seen approaching the moving car before opening fire.
As the driver tried to escape, he was mercilessly mowed down before the shooters took aim at the car’s windows and continue firing.
Gugulethu Ward 14 councillor Bongani Ngcombolo said the community is crying out for help: “It’s not the first time, we really need help from the police here. This one is the fourth one [mass shooting].
“While we can condemn these attacks, there’s nothing we can do about it, we need [SAPS] Intelligence to help out here.”
Ngcombolo said they believe extortionists are behind the brutal shootings.
“These guys are fighting for protection fees, we are fighting for peace.
“Our people are really traumatised because they are moving in closer to the houses.”
A resident tells the Daily Voice that they are prisoners in their own homes: “You will feel how tense it is here the moment you step into the area.
“People here have no respect for one another, nor for each other’s lives. It’s like the shootings became a norm.”
Last week, three people were shot dead in another mass shooting in the township.
MEC for Policing Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, has called on cops to throw all their might behind efforts to arrest those alleged extortionists wreaking havoc in the city’s vulnerable communities.
“There is a need to improve intelligence so that these incidents can be prevented, and more so that it’s not repeated.
“We cannot allow Gugulethu to return to being a killing field,” he said.
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za