The marchers accused the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court of releasing the perpetrators of serious crimes too easily. Photo: Chris Gilili
Mass shootings, extortion rackets, gang warfare and the murder of children make Khayelitsha one of the most dangerous townships in the world to live.
BY Chris Gilili – this post first appeared on Elitsha
- Around 400 people marched to the Lingelethu West Police Station and Khayelitsha Magistrates Court to protest crime and poor service delivery.
- The protest followed a deadly shooting in Kuyasa, where a child died in crossfire.Marchers criticized the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court for granting bail or lenient sentences to murderers and rapists.
- Nomonde Njadu (eNdlovini): “People die almost every day in our area, Ward 29. The perpetrators of those crimes are quickly released from jail. We need answers because that is unsettling, and we don’t feel safe.”
- Ndithini Tyhido (former KDF chairperson): “The work of this court is shocking. The only court with the highest number of bails in the Western Cape is this one.” Tyhido highlighted how Khayelitsha’s design contributes to crime, citing high shack density, lack of roads, and streetlights.
- The community has lost faith in the police and criminal justice system.
- A memorandum declared that allowing criminals to get bail or early release is a failure of the justice system.The memorandum emphasized the need for stronger community engagement by the justice department.
- Protesters criticized the release of convicted rapist Luvo Mgijima, who raped and stabbed Sisipho Maphasa.
- Another memorandum was addressed to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, protesting poor service delivery, sewage, illegal dumping, and clogged drains in Khayelitsha.
- Memorandum: “The polarisation of service delivery enables poverty, hunger, and unemployment to get worse.”
- ANC chief whip Pat Lekker criticized police incompetence in writing statements properly, which leads to weak cases in court.
- Pat Lekker: “The cops don’t write the statements the correct way, hence many of these cases lack the evidence when before court.”
- Lekker expressed hope that criminals would be arrested and kept in jail, despite challenges police face.
