Act, Mr President

IN THIS, an open letter to President Jacob Zuma, I ask him to explain to citizens of our country what his government is doing to remove unlicensed guns from criminals in our townships.

Elliot Qukwana, Odwa Sikemela, Mxolisi Zantsi, and Melikhaya Zantsi were all cut down in the prime of life (“Family agony after two shootings,” Cape Times, July 30). Their families and our society as a whole are left bereft as a result of the senseless killings.

It is too easy for criminals to possess guns and go about brazenly carrying them and shooting people without any fear of consequences. Even police officers and judges are now targets. If the problem is not tackled with adequate strategies the situation will get completely out of hand.

The situation is dire and calls for an adequate, visible and expeditious response.

The removal of guns in a concerted manner has to be your priority, Mr President. People in the townships, who overwhelmingly voted for your party, deserve your studious attention in this regard.

I say that the law enforcement agencies must impose a cordon sanitaire around townships and systematically remove guns either through repeated search-and-seizure operations or through solicited information leading to targeted arrests.

Please act at once, Mr President, and show that you care for those who helped to place you in the highest office of the land. Mosiuoa Lekota Cope Parliament