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“There was never gang violence in the community. It was always a safe and peaceful community; people were never scared to go out at night, but now when the gangsters start shooting the people and children run inside their structures and lie flat on the floor until they stop shooting.”
This is the daily experience of residents living in fear around what is described as unprecedented gangviolence in the Vygieskraal and broader Athlone area, resulting in several injuries and deaths, including that of a Grade 11 learner caught in the crossfire.
A resident, who asked to remain anonymous, says he has lived in The Vlei (Vygieskraal) informal settlement for 30 years and cannot remember there ever being gang violence to this extreme.
“The children cannot even play outside anymore, we cannot go out early in the morning anymore. We must wait until the sun is up before we can go outside,” he says.
The Vlei informal settlement started with two structures in 1980 and has since grown to a large settlement.
Athlone police spokesperson, Sgt Zita Norman says the flare-up of gang tensions began in March and is seemingly between members of warring Fancy Boys and Young Americans gangs and other gangs.
“We are deploying our patrol vans and crime prevention vehicles to do intensive patrols at the areas where the shooting occurs and the Anti Gang Unit is also deployed in the area,” says Norman.
She says incidents have been concentrated in the early hours of the morning and late afternoons in The Vlei informal settlement, Belgravia Estate, Kewtown and Bokmakirie.
Ward 46 councillor Aslam Cassiem says since his time as ward councillor, this is the first such instance he can recall.
“It is the worst it’s ever been,” he says. “The City has various line departments that need to work in the space.”
“Recently, threats were made against a few officials that went into the area to do some important work,” continues Cassiem.
While the resident acknowledges the existence of gangs in the area since around 2018, there have never been sporadic shootings to this extent.
“Measures have been put in place and with the help of the communities that assist with vital information to help in bringing the perpetrators to book and to ensure safer communities for all residents of Athlone,” says Norman.
The resident acknowledges the positive impact the police visibility has had, stating shootings during the day have been limited for the last two weeks.
“The gang violence is never going to stop. It all started in 2018, ever since then our community has been speaking to the City officials and the mayor to provide the people of Vygieskraal with housing opportunities,” he says, adding they have not received any response.
While the incidents are concentrated, it has resulted in an overspill of fear in neighbouring areas.
On Tuesday 23 April, the Silvertown Neighbourhood Watch hosted a meeting with safety officials from local government and police regarding the increase in gun violence.
Zelda Ann Hintsa, a community worker who grew up in Athlone and attended various programmes in the nearby Bridgetown area growing up, says this is also impacting residents here. “Bridgetown was always the safest community. I cannot recall any gang violence on this level. Gang violence impacts service delivery because people cannot move freely in the area. The feeling on the ground is that people are despondent and that police need to provide more patrols in the area. (I would also suggest) the community needs to report and attend community safety meetings,” says Hintsa.
Another resident from the neighbouring area, who also asked to remain anonymous says school children from Belgravia High, Silverlea Primary and surrounds are left traumatised as gang violence has spread even onto the school grounds. “Everyday shooting has left residents around the Vlei on edge, never before was there so much gang activity and murders in Bridgetown, it’s getting worse, to the point that street people who sleep in the Vlei, now sleep in the Klipfontein corridor as they fear for their lives. With this happening is also damage to infrastructure with cable theft on the rise,” he says. “There was gang tensions but not on this level.”
The resident is calling for this to be declared a hotspot and for the South African National Defence Force to be deployed.
Community Policing Forum (CPF) chair Sharon Claasen says: “The surge in crime has everyone on tenterhooks and understandably so. Despite efforts to address crimes, the spike in gun-related cases has everyone up in arms. Communities need to become part of the solution by joining their local neighbourhood watch - the eyes and ears by reporting suspicious activity, report suspicious persons. We need everyone to stand together.”
But, the resident says the only way to rid the area of gangsterism is to provide housing and other opportunities.
“All this is about territory. Many innocent people were shot or killed because of this gang violence. The only way is the City must let all people move into housing,” he says.
In the days that followed, videos of gruesome shooting-related crime scenes have also flooded social media. Police are investigating several murders and attempted murder cases related to this gang violence.
On Friday 26 April, a 46-year-old man was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head in Brandon Street. The deceased was lying on his stomach with his face and head covered in blood. It is alleged that three men, who are now known to police, shot at the man and are on the run.
