47 murdered in 'devastating weekend' of violence in Cape Town

A mother stabbed by her teenage son. A taxi driver shot in the face. An eight-months- pregnant mother cut down in a hail of bullets as she walked to the shop to buy electricity.

They were among the 47 people murdered in the latest bloody weekend of violence across the Cape Town metropolitan region.

Western Cape premier Alan Winde on Monday called on everyone to make the fight against crime their responsibility, after an escalation of crime and murder.

Forensic services recorded 47 murders at the weekend - 27 shootings, 13 stabbings and seven “murders by other means” in the metro region of the province.

Among the dead were a mother from Kuils River who was stabbed by her teenage son and a 29-year-old taxi driver who was “shot in the face multiple times”, said a statement by Winde’s office.

The latest grim statistics were shared as police minister Bheki Cele prepared to provide an update on the impact of the deployment of soldiers to assist police in parts of the Cape Flats plagued by crime, gangs and drugs.

Winde said: “This weekend was another devastating weekend in the metro with 47 murders recorded. In addition to these weekend deaths, we also saw the tragic shooting of Sadiqah Newman, who was eight months' pregnant, in Manenberg and the discovery of Meghan Cremer’s body on Thursday. Both young women had their lives cut short by senseless violence. We need to put a stop to this.

“We welcome the fact that police made swift arrests in both cases, and hope  the criminal justice system will do its work to ensure that those responsible for these deaths are removed from society and unable to hurt more people."

He said his office would write to the police to request a full report-back on the role and effectiveness of the defence force since its deployment on the Cape Flats, as well as the police's plans to fight crime in the province.

“Violence like we’ve seen over the past weekend impacts the whole province and all areas of government. We have seen the strain that violence is placing on our health system, with massive increases in gunshot injuries resulting in surgeries which are not life-threatening being pushed back.

"We see the impact of violence on children and teachers in schools, and it impacts our ability as a province to attract the investment we need to grow the economy and create jobs which assist in solving the crime crisis in this province.”

Winde said the majority of police deployed in the province were “good men and women” but they needed the tools, resources and additional members to effectively fight crime.