Residents still live in fear

Coalition aims to draw attention to shortcomings in Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

SIX years after the completion of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing in one of Cape Town’s poorest townships, the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is having a series of events to address and draw attention to the alleged systemic failures raised during the inquiry.

SJC member Noma Masemula said the events which started this week and which would end on October 10 (held only on Tuesdays and Thursdays) would include sessions that cover the law and legislation on gender-based violence, political education on gendered systems of oppression, panels, psychosocial support and self-care and an exhibition detailing the experiences of gender violence in Khayelitsha as a result of the systemic failures of the state.

The inquiry made some headway into implementing the 20 recommendations submitted after its conclusion, but residents living in the sprawling suburb of Khayelitsha said they were far from being any safer.

“Today, there has not been a significant change in women’s experiences of sexual, domestic and gendered violence. The 2019/20 crime statistics released by the police showed that in the period between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, 2 695 women and 943 children were murdered in SA,” Masemula said.

She said in Khayelitsha, 474 people were murdered in the last year.

“These systemic failures include the failure of the police and other criminal justice actors to police, investigate and convict perpetrators of violence within our communities.”

She said their programme does not only aim to call on those in power to implement the recommendations and to do better by the people who live in Khayelitsha, especially women but to open a dialogue and discussion on the systems of oppression that shape the lived experiences.

Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said it noted with a great sense of disappointment the lack of urgency by the police on the development of the Makhaza police station as was recommended by the police commission.

Tyhido called on Khayelitsha residents to unite “now more than ever” in the fight against crime.

“… the KDF believes it is through a concerted all community effort that Khayelitsha will ever attain development, peace and harmony,” he said.