Since January, the lives of at least 39 children in the Western Cape have sadly been cut short. Reagen Allen, MEC of Police Oversight and Community Safety, recently cited the latest quarterly crime statistics, noting that 382 murders this year alone involved a firearm.
Also read: 9-year-old fatally shot by a suspect who claims it was accidental
‘Any child that is murdered concerns me deeply. It is unacceptable and has to stop. There is no way that we can justify child killings in any way,’ he says, adding that 19 children were murdered during the same reporting period last year.
More recently, a nine-year-old boy from Manenberg was fatally shot when a family friend allegedly fired a bullet while cleaning his firearm. Although Tiano Anthony was rushed to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Captain FC van Wyk, Western Cape Police spokesperson, confirmed that a 34-year-old man was arrested for the boy’s murder.
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According to News24, the latest child murder prompted concerns about gangsters who handle their weapons in public. Adele Kirsten, Gun Free SA director, says the legislation is clear: when a person obtains a competency certificate for gun ownership, that competency needs to be determined.
‘Part of the key element of competency is whether one understands the legislation in owning a gun, your duty and responsibility in safe storage of a firearm and under what circumstances you can discharge your firearm.’
Kirsten adds that it is crucial to store firearms safely. ‘It must be in a [gun] safe and the key to the safe must only be with the person who owns the gun.’ She also says that cleaning a gun in a public space with the ammunition in the barrel is pure negligence. ‘It’s reckless and a potential offence under the law.’
She says it is unfortunate that children are always at risk in parts of the Cape Flats, as these areas are typically riddled with crime and gangsters. ‘Whether children are specifically being targeted is what still needs to be proven as there isn’t enough evidence to suggest this.’
Criminologist Guy Lamb told News24 that children are caught in the crossfire in most cases, as gangs usually compete for territory and drugs in areas of the Cape Flats, resulting in one gang shooting at another.
‘Given the areas in which this happens [houses] are quite small. Lots of children are playing in the streets because they don’t have gardens. [When] gangsters are shooting randomly and wildly, children often get caught in the crossfire.’
He adds that there have also been instances where gangs target children specifically in order to hurt a family member of a rival. ‘Often these children are family of other gangsters and they would want to emotionally hurt the gangsters by targeting their children.’
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Marguerite Holtzhausen, from the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture, says the government is failing communities in the fight against gangsterism. ‘As long as gangsters feel confident to continue their activities without consequences, children will not be safe on the street. Shootings are normalised, and often children [go to] gang fights to witness what is happening, which makes them more vulnerable.’
‘Gang activity is also linked to the selling of drugs, which is a clear driver of domestic violence among our caseload. We have also heard that children as young as 6 are actively involved with gangs and sometimes in robbing people at gunpoint.’
She adds that one of the biggest concerns of trauma councillors is that, according to research, children exposed to violence without counselling and interventions are more likely to continue the cycle of violence.
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