Cape Town - Frustrated by the continued gang warfare in their neighbourhood, which had claimed several lives, the Hanover Park community marched to the homes of suspected gang bosses, demanding that they make peace.
They were accompanied by members of the Pagad G-Force, who chanted: “One gangster, one bullet! Allahu Akbar!”
The residents first went to Galilee Court, where they waited for an Americans gang leader. For his safety, he was driven in a car to another area, where he agreed to make peace with other gangs, such as the Mongrels, the Laughing Boys and the IGBs.
One of the organisers, Moulana Tohaa Rodrigues, said the shootings had disrupted schooling in the area, forcing many young people to stay home for their safety.
“Unfortunately, the killing of innocent people escalated, and that was the reason the community decided to stand up. It felt like we were hostages in our own homes, we had to lie flat on the floor when the shooting started.
“The children in high schools are using the shootings as an excuse not to go to school. Absenteeism has also been noted in Muslim schools, and we can’t reprimand the students because the gangsters are just shooting and they don’t even know how to shoot. Sometimes, they miss their targets and end up shooting innocent people. The security agencies have failed us. If a perpetrator is arrested today, he’s out shooting again tomorrow.”
The group approached 10 gang leaders, urging them to stop the war.
“Yesterday was a follow-up march. We managed to cleanse half of Hanover Park on August 20. We went to four rival gang leaders of the Ghetto Kids, OTFs and Americans.
“The Americans, the Laughing Boys, IGBs and Mongrels were also at war. The community went to them so they could surrender. If they didn’t surrender, we would have made them surrender, with faith.
“We have processes in place to make sure that we keep the peace.”
He said the last demonstration saw more than 3 000 people visiting gang leaders’ homes.
“It was quite successful. The rivals agreed to stop shooting and since then, we have had very few incidents reported. There were only three shots fired. We hope that things will continue to be quiet,” Rodrigues said.