Cape Town - Nyanga crime fighters believe extortion and taxi-related murders have contributed to the spike in the murder rate in the area.
The precinct was named the “murder capital” last week as Police Minister Senzo Mchunu presented the quarterly crime statistics.
“Nyanga is one of the 11 police stations which have seen an increase in the murder rate. In Philippi East, the increase is 76.5% increase, in Khayelitsha (it is) 44%. A lot of work, dedication and planning will be required. Overall, the Western Cape's murder rate increased by 27.5% in quarter 4 of 2023/24 and by 21.2% in quarter 1 of 2024/25.”
The police station serves Crossroads, Nyanga, Brown's Farm, some parts of Philippi East and many informal settlements.
Between April and June this year, 79 people were murdered. The rate had gone up by 64.6%, meaning 31 more people were killed than in the same period in 2023.
The area is also leading with hijacking in the province and the country. A total of 98 cases were reported, an increase of 17.
Local community police forum secretary Dumisani Qwebe said: “Extortion is one of the main reasons we had the escalation in murders. We have also found out that the victims and perpetrators were known to each other.
“The other problem was the internal war between the taxis. We have tried to find a solution with the taxi drivers. We had a meeting with them after finding out that they took each other's cars. We are in talks with them and it will soon be a thing of the past.
“There was a man from Atlantis. He arrived on a Friday and committed murders – three people who allegedly killed his friend in this extortion thing. The station commander went to look for him and apprehended him and found the gun. When his profile was run, it was discovered that he had a lot of serious violence cases against him … and also that he was on parole.”
Qwebe said there was an improvement in crime intelligence in Nyanga.
“We don't believe the murder rate spiked because of policing issues. We have seen crime intelligence working in Nyanga, something that we haven't seen in a long time. There are success stories where the police confiscated guns in several parts of the precinct.
“We are hoping the memorandum of understanding that was the LEAP and metro police will bring something new because then SAPS and them were not working together.”
Mchunu said carjackings had increased in the Eastern and Western Cape, with sedans, hatchbacks and coupés the most hijacked vehicles.
“With Nyanga police station having had the most number of reported carjacking cases, while the Kwazakele police station in Gqeberha registered 81 cases of carjackings, it marked the increase to be 43 in the first quarter.”
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais expressed her “deep disappointment and concern” over the latest crime statistics.
“In the fight against crime, the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety will continue to fund the LEAP programme, to assist and support the SAPS in stabilising the areas which are the worst hot spots for contact crimes,” she said.
“The agreement signed should assist in growing the capacity of programmes like LEAP, Rural Safety and K9 units, to assist investigative capacity, improve prosecutorial success rates and combat lawlessnes.
“Visible policing, in which our programmes assist the SAPS, is extremely valuable to stabilise areas of hostility. We also have reason to believe SAPS will be focusing more on improved crime intelligence, which is imperative if the fight against crime is to be won.
“I will be meeting with Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile and his leadership to offer every possible assistance. SAPS, the provincial government and municipalities in our province will have to brainstorm and strategise anew. The only way to beat crime is for all of us to step up and play our part. We will not be deterred.”