There was a heavy police presence as protesters moved from one home to the next, chanting “one gangster, one bullet” and “death to the merchants, death to the mongrels”.

Outside the home of an alleged gangster, one protester, wearing a realistic face mask, called over the megaphone: “This is your last warning … This is the community that you are hurting with your drugs and guns. The community is now tired of you.”

Protesters gathered outside a house, allegedly home to members of the Incredibly Gifted Bastards (IGB) gang. “We are here with a message,” said one protester to a woman at the door. “Tell your people, the children that are being shot … it must come to an end.”

“This is your final and last warning,” said another protester. “Your brother is already in the ground … Your brother is dead from shooting children.”

A toddler was shot in Hanover Park on Wednesday and died the next day. Similar marches against gangsterism and drugs have also recently taken place in Stellenbosch and Mitchells Plain. Four murders were reported on Saturday in Mitchells Plain alone.

Hanover Park has long had issues with gang violence. In 2019, the army was deployed to help quell escalating gang violence.

Community activist Patricia Morris says that the police and councillors are doing nothing. She says that shootings in the community are constant, and it isn’t safe for children to walk to school or play outside. She says the community needs to stand up. “Sitting at home is not going to benefit you … we all have to rise to the occasion … Are we forever going to live in fear?”

Zainoneesa Rashid, PAGAD G-Force secretary, said the community had asked them to assist because they don’t have anyone else to turn to. “We’ve had enough and they need to step up … because it can’t go on like this … Our innocent kids can’t be killed,” she said.

Written by Ashraf Hendricks for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

The post Hanover Park residents threaten gangsters outside their homes appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

Led by members of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD), marchers stood outside each suspected “drug den” and issued warnings.

“You must stop smuggling (drugs)” Haroon Orrie of PAGAD told people outside one of the alleged drug houses.

“You are destroying the community. Do you have no shame?” he asked. Orrie told the police that there are “drugs in this home and we need to search it”, but police told him to move on.

“Don’t play with the community. Your time is up,” he told people standing outside the home.

The marchers, surrounded by a contingent of public order police with shields, chanted slogans such as “One gangster one bullet. One merchant one bullet”, “Long live PAGAD”, and “Down with the gangsters. Down with the drug dealers”.

Resident Kaashiefa Arnolds came out of her home during the march and complained that gang violence was rife in the area. “They shoot every night…They rob people every day,” she shouted. “We live in fear here.” She said in July a 15-year-old had been shot dead near her home.

Tensions peaked as marchers tried to break through the police line to get to houses they had identified as drug dens. Police used riot shields and fired a few stun grenades. The march was brought to an abrupt end.

“We are here to help and make a difference within this community,” said Zahrah Kriel of PAGAD. She said residents want to live in a safe area again. “We will not stand back to any gangster or drug dealer”.

Community activist Relston Lakay claimed that gangsters were being protected by the police. Lakay said that parents had to spend money on transport because it was not safe for their children to walk to school.

He said the march was “a stepping stone” to bring hope back into the community, where gang activity has been on the rise in recent months.

Written by Ashraf Hendricks for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

The post Police fire stun grenades at PAGAD protesters appeared first on ProtectionWeb.