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Tuesday 15 March 2011

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Lavender Hill called to action LIAM MOSES

OMMUNITY safety MEC Albert Fritz has urged Lavender Hill residents to “stop waiting for government” to find a solution to the gang war that has plagued the area over the past two years, but to form a collective front against the violence. Fritz was speaking to a group of about 300 angry residents who gathered at St Mark’s Church yesterday after a weekend of bloodshed shook Lavender Hill. Police have linked Friday’s fatal shootings to gang revenge attacks involving rival groups the Junky Funky Kids and the Corner Boys. Dale Jordan (15), Shaquille Jacobs (15) and Sergio Domingo (21), who were believed to be innocent bystanders, died in the hail of bullets which broke out on the corner of Grindal Avenue and Hek Road on Friday when a white Toyota drove past. Six other people were injured, including women and children. The Toyota was found in nearby Seawinds late on Friday night. No arrests have yet been made, but police have detained four peo-

ple for questioning. On Sunday night another two boys, aged 15 and 16, were shot in their legs on the corner of Depsiton and Saint Simon Streets in Lavender Hill. Police cannot confirm whether or not the incident was gang related. The boys are recovering in hospital. At the meeting on Monday, while community members called on government to deploy the army and for a curfew to be implemented to stop the violence, Fritz encouraged residents to strengthen their own resolve to fight gangsterism. “What about strengthening the Community Policing Forum (CPF) in the area? There are big companies who want to sponsor neighbourhood watches,” he said. The crowd was visibly frustrated and angry about the deaths that have occurred in the area. They interrupted Fritz a number of times and had to be asked to be quiet. In response, Fritz said that the army would not solve the problem of gang violence because the gangsters were not identifiable More than six years ago, the greater Lavender Hill area, which includes St Montague’s Village, Vil-

STOP THE VIOLENCE: Lavender Hill residents march into St Mark’s church yesterday holding placards calling for an end to violence. Photos: Liam Moses

STAND UP: Protesters from Lavender Hill march into the Saint Mark’s Church holding up placards. lage Heights, Hillview, Seawinds and Overcome Heights, was spared from gang violence. A gang intervention programme was launched by the Department of Community Safety in 2008, and last year roleplayers warned government and the police that active recruitment was taking place in the area. Sporadic gang-related shootings, some of which proved fatal, have plagued the area and culminated in the fatalities at the weekend. Kevin Southgate, Steenberg CPF chairperson, says the current mood of the community was created because government had waited too long to have the meeting. “We submitted a memorandum to the department of Community Safety in November last year in which we raised our concerns about the violence in the area and asked to have a meeting,” said Southgate. “I believe that if we had that meeting earlier, what happened could have been averted. It’s quite clear that the community is disappointed and frustrated by the lack of response.” Community leader, Aysha Davids, chairperson of local NGO,

Women Hope for the Nation, said shootings happen so often that the deployment of the army would be the best solution. “I feel like this community is being held hostage,” said Davids. “Children can’t even play in the streets any longer. We feel that they need to bring in the army. Shootings happen quite often here.” Gaironesa Solomons, the grandmother of Shaquille Jacobs, tells People’s Post that the teen was not involved in gangsterism at all. Jacobs was standing on the corner of Hek and Grindel Roads near his home with a group of friends when the white Toyota Corolla pulled up and shot randomly into the crowd. The corner where Jacobs and the others were standing is a known hang-out of the Corner Boys gang. “He was just standing on the corner with his friends,” says Solomons. “I cant think of any reason why someone would want to hurt or kill him.” Solomons added that she did not want to attend the meeting with Fritz because it would be too upsetting. “I can’t describe this feeling but

it’s very painful,” says Solomons. “It makes me want to run away from here.” Clive Jacobs, a Lavender Hill community worker and former Steenberg CPF chairperson, says territory is one of the major reasons for the ongoing gang battle between rival gangs. “The gang fights are about recruitment, turf and drugs,” said Jacobs. “We are being kept hostage by this. The community can’t really do what it wants to.” At the meeting Fritz said he planned to increase the number of Bambanani community safety volunteers and increase the number of search and seizure operations in schools to curb the violence November Filander, SAPS provincial spokesperson, said police had been deployed throughout Lavender Hill and search and seizure operations were being conducted at hot-spots in the area. Filander urged residents to contact the police immediately if they know of any illegal activity. The Steenberg police could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print.