Tensions are palpable in Hanover Park, Cape Town, where a gang is reportedly embroiled in a bloody war that has already claimed one life in a span of two weeks.
Hanover Park gang shooting: Here’s what we know
The Cape Flats community was rocked by loud gunfire this past weekend, and according to the City of Cape Town’s MEC for community safety, Alderman JP Smith, over 51 shots were fired between two groups of gunmen.
While no casualties were reported in the fiery encounter, police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut did confirm that one person, a 22-year-old male, sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
According to authorities, it’s believed the recent spate of shootings are linked to in-fighting in the Ghetto Kids gang. Intel gathered by the anti-gang unit thus far suggests the criminal organisation has been at war since the death of its alleged leader, Faizel “Sheikh” Manuel, who died of natural causes in 2021.
Coincidentally, his son, 23-year-old Essa ‘Hadjie’ Manuel was shot and killed in an ambush last week, allegedly by members of the Ghetto Kids.
Sunday’s shooting, Hanover Park residents claim in a Daily Voice report, was a retaliatory response to Hadjie’s untimely death, and fears are growing that this may not be the end of the bloody war.
While the community has cried foul about a lack of police presence in the area, Smith countered this claim by accusing Hanover Park residents of refusing to cooperate with police by reporting those responsible for the shootings.
“While the community cries for the guns to be silenced, why do we keep silent and protect our neighbours? This cycle will continue until our communities break the silence. Until then, the best we can do is assist SAPS in trying to bring calm to the area,” he wrote.
The shooters involved in the death of Hadjie, and in Sunday’s shooting, are still at large, police confirmed.