Cape Town Communities Plead With Gangs Over Concerns for Violence During the Festive Season

• Members of different communities in Cape Town, Western Cape, who are victims of gang violence, appealed to the warring gangs
• Gang violence claimed scores of lives in 2025 after a high number of gang-related shootings resulted in the deaths of women, children and innocent members of the community
• Community members from areas like Mitchell's Plain, Hanover Park and Lavender Hill have begged the gangs to stop the fighting

With 10 years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of the Current Affairs desk, South Africa, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics, commissions of inquiry, and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE — Communities in Cape Town, Western Cape, have called on gangs and gang members to end their wars, which terrorise communities and claim the lives of many, especially children.

Kashiefa Mohamed, the Community Policing Forum (CPF) spokesperson in Hanover Park, spoke to Eyewitness News. She pleaded with gangs to put an end to the violence, having lost her son to gang violence in 2017. She also called on members of the community to take care of their children during the festive season.

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Communities on edge: Children vulnerable as gang violence escalates during holiday

Living with gangs in Cape Town

Mohamed said that it was normal for residents to hear gunshots for 24 hours. She called on community members not to allow gangsters to take over. The South African Police Service has increased its presence in affected communities.

Mohamed is one of the many community members who have spoken about the devastating impact of gangsterism in the Western Cape. Sinead Majiet, a teacher at Yellowwood Primary School in Mitchell's Plain, said that she and the other teachers have emergency measures which they implement to protect the children and themselves when gang-related violence takes place. Majiet spoke after a video went viral on social media in September 2025 in which a teacher is calming children using soothing music while a shootout unfolds beyond the school premises.

Gang-related violence during 2025 festive season

Gang violence continued to spread terror and fear across communities in the Cape Flats during the festive season. Two people were killed during a gang violence-related incident in Wesbank on 25 December. A third was rushed to the hospital after the shooting, which took place at 6 am.

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Three arrested in Cape Town over gang-related shootings, murders amid rising violence

Three people were arrested in Cape Town over gang-related shootings. The police's Anti-Gang Unit arrested the suspects on the weekend of 27 and 28 December in Athlone, Mitchell's Plain and Manenberg. They were arrested for various crimes, including murder.

22 Killed in gun violence in the Western Cape

In a related article, Briefly News reported that 22 people were killed and 16 were critically injured between 24 and 26 October 2025 on the Cape Flats. A majority of the cases involve gun violence.

Multiple shootings took place in Mitchell's Plain, Manenberg, Lavender Hill, Delft, Bonteheuwel, Elsies River, Philippi and Kraaifontein. Police Minister Firoz Cachalia visited the area and said that he aims to curb gang violence in the province.

Source: Briefly News