Cyril ‘brings peace’ as gangsters laugh at plan
Saam Niami Jalinous
President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged from a BMW SUV with his full security entourage and stepped on to the trash-laden, gang-ruled streets of Cape Town’s Hanover Park.
Crowds of people, young and old, gathered to see the president. Hundreds of police officers surrounded the area, with army snipers set up on rooftops.
“Where are the gangsters?” asked the president. “I want to meet them. I want to take them on,” he said with a laugh. The crowds cheered.
Ramaphosa was in Hanover Park yesterday to meet the residents of the dangerous suburb and to announce his gang taskforce police initiative.
“The antigang unit is made up of members from specialised units with an objective to dislodge and terminally weaken the capacity of the gangs, and to disorganise and fundamentally disable the criminal economy linked to gangsterism, including drug and firearm supply lines or other identified commodities,” according to a department of police statement. The unit has been operational in Nyanga, Bonteheuwel and Bishop Lavis since October.
The president walked about to shake hands, kiss babies and make his stance against gang violence clear.
“We are very happy to be here among you,” he said. “And we are happy to silence the gangs. Our presence here shows the gangs that we are not afraid of them and we are coming after them.”
“We must give jobs!” yelled an older Hanover Park woman, who was no more than two metres from the president. “We must give jobs to the gangsters! It’s not all about the violence!”
The woman’s son is a gangster and she was adamant putting the gangs in jail would do nothing to change the neighbourhood.
“We need housing!” she said. “Every neighbourhood around here got government houses except us. We need jobs. My son is a gangster and he is at home doing nothing.”
The president continued his walkabout. A group of young men watched him from three metres away and laughed.
“We like the president,” said one. “There is peace. No shooting today. He should come every week. Usually there’s killing, every day, all the time. Not today.”
These men turned out to all be gang members.
They found the president’s plan amusing. “If they send us to jail,” said one, “we will just leave and come back. That’s what will happen.” – GroundUp