Cape Town’s ongoing cycle of gang violence has again placed children in the crosshairs, prompting civil rights organisations and political leaders to call for urgent government intervention.
The head of Action Society’s Western Cape branch, Kaylynn Palm, said the government needs to do more.
“Cape Town’s children are living in a war zone while the government remains paralysed. We need specialised localised policing with real resources and real accountability. Our communities cannot survive a system that is distant, centralised and failing at every basic level,” she said.
Palm’s remarks come in the wake of the brutal murder of nine-year-old Zechariah Matthee, who was shot dead in a mass shooting in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, last week. Matthee was one of three victims killed when gunmen opened fire. Two adults, aged 25 and 30, were also killed.
His killing was followed by a wave of violence that left more children wounded or dead:
- On December 6 in Kensington, 14-year-old Alnika Mitchell was shot dead in her front yard while watching pupils celebrate their matric farewell. She was an innocent bystander.
- A day later, on December 7 in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, a four-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy were struck by bullets when gunmen in a passing vehicle shot at an adult man. The girl was shot in the neck and remains in hospital fighting for her life. The boy sustained an arm wound.
“These incidents paint a horrifying picture. Children in the Western Cape are being gunned down in their homes, yards and streets. This is a full-blown emergency. Without real policing capacity and community-driven safety interventions, more children will die.”
We refuse to allow Zechariah’s case to become another file collecting dust. We will monitor the investigation and push for accountability
— Kaylynn Palm, Action Society Western Cape head
Palm said Action Society would ensure Zechariah’s case is not forgotten.
“We refuse to allow Zechariah’s case to become another file collecting dust. We will monitor the investigation and push for accountability.”
The organisation has called on SAPS to prioritise the investigation into Zechariah’s murder and intensify operations in gang-affected areas, vowing to continue supporting affected families and pressuring government structures “that have failed to protect the province’s most vulnerable residents”.
The attacks unfolded during the national 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, a period intended to highlight and combat violence against vulnerable groups.
GOOD party councillor Jonathan Cupido also condemned the killings, urging law enforcement and prosecuting authorities to take decisive action, calling for:
- swift arrests of all perpetrators;
- secured convictions to ensure offenders are removed from communities; and
- increased visible policing in gang and violence hotspots.
Cupido said policing alone cannot solve the crisis. “Violent crime does not arise in a vacuum. It is driven by deepening poverty, chronic unemployment and the systematic neglect of vulnerable communities, especially in working-class coloured neighbourhoods,” he said.
You cannot police poverty out of existence. You cannot arrest inequality. All that results in is the criminalisation of our youth and the destruction of their prospects
— Jonathan Cupido, GOOD party councillor
Access to meaningful job opportunities for semi-skilled and unskilled parents is shrinking rapidly, he said. “Families are increasingly forced into dependence on social grants, while young people are left with no viable future. This desperation feeds gangsterism, drug abuse, school dropout rates and cycles of violence.”
The consequences of political neglect are playing out in real time, said Cupido. “We are witnessing boys being absorbed into criminal networks and drug culture, while young girls are exposed to abuse, addiction and early pregnancies. These are not moral failures; they are the predictable outcomes of political neglect.”
He warned that a policing-heavy approach by the Western Cape government while social development and education budgets shrink is misguided and harmful. “You cannot police poverty out of existence. You cannot arrest inequality. All that results in is the criminalisation of our youth and the destruction of their prospects.”
Cupido said an alarming trend is emerging in schools: “Primary school teachers are increasingly seeking protection orders against learners, resulting in children being barred from their schools. This reflects the collapse of psychosocial support structures and the erosion of social services that should be protecting educators and children.”
TimesLIVE
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