
Gun violence flares up in Vrygrond, police officer shot dead
CAPE TOWN - Gun violence has flared up again in the Vrygrond area of Cape Town.
In the latest shooting, a 48-year-old police sergeant was killed outside his home in the early hours of Friday morning.
ALSO READ:
A community member in the area spoke to Eyewitness News on condition of anonymity
"Remember, ShotSpotter does not cover that area, although it is deemed as a red zone and because of the taxi violence that took place here. I don't understand why the city hasn't deployed [ShotSpotter]. JP [Smith] hasn't deployed more law enforcement officers."
Cape Town Safety and Security MMC JP Smith said that although they do assist police with certain issues, they can only do so within their allocated areas
"LEAP [Law Enforcement Advancement Plan] is not deployed in that area. It is not a leap area. We've issued press statements recently explaining where the LEAP areas are. We've deployed in terms of the crime stats to the highest crime rate areas."

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Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Gun violence flares up in Vrygrond, police officer shot dead
CAPE TOWN - Gun violence has flared up again in the Vrygrond area of Cape Town. In the latest shooting, a 48-year-old police sergeant was killed outside his home in the early hours of Friday morning. ALSO READ: A community member in the area spoke to Eyewitness News on condition of anonymity "Remember, ShotSpotter does not cover that area, although it is deemed as a red zone and because of the taxi violence that took place here. I don't understand why the city hasn't deployed [ShotSpotter]. JP [Smith] hasn't deployed more law enforcement officers." Cape Town Safety and Security MMC JP Smith said that although they do assist police with certain issues, they can only do so within their allocated areas "LEAP [Law Enforcement Advancement Plan] is not deployed in that area. It is not a leap area. We've issued press statements recently explaining where the LEAP areas are. We've deployed in terms of the crime stats to the highest crime rate areas."


Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Eyewitness News
The people must ceaselessly challenge the lawlessness of the SA government
Malaika Mahlatsi 30 May 2025 | 13:08 Nandipha Magudumana appeared at the the Bloemfontein High Court on 5 June 2024. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/Eyewitness News The people must ceaselessly challenge the lawlessness of the SA government A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa delivered a judgment in the Magudumana v Director of Public Prosecutions, Free State and Others. The case sought to decide whether Magudumana's extradition from Tanzania (which she contends was, in fact, an abduction by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on the instruction of the South African State) was lawful. The majority judgment found that it was. But Judge Makgoka, in his minority judgment that has been lauded by international law experts, disagrees with his colleagues, arguing that the arrest of Magudumana was unlawfully disguised as an extradition when it did not, in fact, follow proper extradition processes. The judgment is extensive, delving into the complexities of international law. But it is on page 43 of its conclusion that Judge Makgoka makes a profound reflection, one that goes beyond the case in question and to the very issue at the core of the moral crisis of the South African state – its perennial lawlessness. Speaking to this lawlessness, Judge Makgoka quotes the words of Judge Louis Dembitz Brandeis in the Olmstead et al v United States judgment, where the then Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States made this profound input: 'In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously…Government is the potent, omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy'. Judge Brandeis had spent many years challenging the erosion of morality on the part of the American state, specifically about its problematic relationship with the banking industry. For Brandeis, this relationship was one of the roots of corruption within the state, particularly because of the stranglehold that the industry and its lobby had over politicians. Nowhere was this relationship more evident than in the influence of the leading financier and investment banker of America's Progressive Era, J.P Morgan, who directly and indirectly directed American economic policy, particularly during and following the Panic of 1907. I found myself reflecting on Judge Brandeis' argument on the danger of a lawless government in the context of the recent (now withdrawn) appointment of board chairs of the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and the consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes by the Auditor-General (AG). 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But of significance is the criminality that the AG flagged. According to the report, nearly R1 billion in contracts in the City of Johannesburg were awarded to companies with close ties to employees of the municipality, including councillors, who failed to declare conflicts of interest in the 2023/2024 financial year. This is in direct violation of the law. The Public Administration Management Act (PAMA) 11 of 2014, specifically Section 8 (2), and Regulation 13 (c) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016, prohibit State employees from conducting business with the State or being a director of a company doing so. What this indicates is that there is a flagrant disregard for the law in the City of Johannesburg and other municipalities across the country. These are two of many instances in which the political leadership of South Africa has been very casual about being party to or presiding over complete lawlessness and immorality. It has become so embedded in our society that it does not shock anyone anymore. It is just another news item – another point of discussion on social media before something else grabs our attention. But this should not be the case. The people of South Africa should be ceaseless in challenging the lawlessness of our government whenever it rears its ugly head. Forcing the minister to withdraw her appointments was a step in the right direction. We should do more of this. As Brandeis so correctly asserted, the government should never engage in acts of lawlessness because this breeds contempt for the law and invites every man and woman to become a law unto him/herself. This breeding of anarchy is the foundation on which the erosion of the state is built. Malaika, an award-winning and bestselling author, is a geographer and researcher at the Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation. She is a PhD in Geography candidate at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
JP Smith responds to 'The Truth About Cape Town's Well-Run Image'
JP Smith addresses Michael Andisile Mayalo's opinion piece, offering a comprehensive view of Cape Town's safety challenges and the city's proactive measures to combat crime. Image: File Picture In response to the opinion piece by Michael Andisile Mayalo titled 'The Truth About Cape Town's Well-Run Image: A Cape Flats Perspective'. The sentiments expressed by Mr Mayalo portray a dim and singular view of a complex issue that the City of Cape Town's Safety and Security directorate has been tackling for nearly two decades. Central to the confusion often exhibited by the communities, and evident in this opinion piece, is the control over the South African Police Services (SAPS) and governmental mandates that stipulate who has the authority to exercise control in this regard. The Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of various spheres of government. The City's constitutional mandate includes traffic and by-law enforcement. National government is constitutionally responsible for crime prevention, investigation, and intelligence gathering and exclusively controls SAPS. The Provincial Government has only an oversight role over SAPS and no actual City's Safety and Security directorate boasts an array of departments and initiatives which were strategically founded to address the shortfall by SAPS to effectively police the gang hotspots across Cape Town. Improving the lives of residents of the so-called Cape Flats has always been a priority for this directorate with the bulk of our resources being deployed daily to communities such as Manenberg, Lavender Hill, Hanover Park and various others. In addition to the additional boots on the ground, we take a strategic approach to proactive policing the City has successfully amalgamated the use of gunshot detection technology and other aids such as drones and CCTV cameras for intelligence driven deployment not just reactive policing after shootings flare up. The main misconception about ShotSpotter is that it will end gun violence. ShotSpotter is the alarm not the sprinkler. It provides one single version of the truth about the high levels of gun violence affecting our communities and this provides authorities, including SAPS, with objective data. Mr Mayalo's claim that the directorate controls 21 safety units and specialised crime intelligence is blatantly untrue or he is misinformed. I have oversight over the following departments: • Emergency Services (PECC/107) • Disaster Risk Management • Traffic Services • Fire and Rescue Services • Law Enforcement Services • Metro Police Department • Events and Film • Safety and Security Investigations Unit (SSIU) and the Safety and Security Information Management Systems (SSIMS). • Neighbourhood Watch Support Teams. In addition, The City does obtain and share crime intelligence from and with SAPS. We have our own in-house information management unit that assists both the City and SAPS with crime data to aid their investigations as our municipal mandate does not extend to the formal investigation into organised crime. For the period between January 2021 and January 2025, the City's enforcement agencies have removed 1670 firearms from the streets of Cape Town. This includes prohibited firearms, zip guns and replica recent years I have continually called for the devolution of the police service in the Western Cape and even across South Africa. The national Police Minister has the authority to devolve policing powers to competent local or provincial governments The City of Cape Town has proven that even with limited resources, the restrictions of municipal budgets and limited policing powers, we have made a significant impact in reducing crime but we are ready to do more. Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security