CAPE TOWN, Aug. 19 — South Africa’s Parliament on Wednesday held a solutions-based summit as part of its inquiry into persistent gang-related violent crime.
The summit brought together anti-crime activists, child and human rights organizations, police representatives and other stakeholders to give the Portfolio Committee on Police of the National Assembly firsthand accounts of how gang violence has devastated families and communities, as well as alleged police failures to curb the violence.
In a statement released Tuesday by Parliament, the Portfolio Committee on Police was given the mandate to undertake the inquiry by the National Assembly on Nov. 25, 2025.
The committee said that this was prompted by a surge in violent murders and gang-related crime on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, and the need to investigate the root causes and effectiveness of policing interventions.
Earlier this year, about 2,200 soldiers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed to the Western Cape and four other provinces to support police efforts to combat gang violence.
However, a series of shootings across three townships in Cape Town over a single weekend earlier this month left 11 people dead, underscoring the persistent threat posed by gang violence in the area.
During the summit, the committee heard how gang members were getting younger as gangs preyed on and recruited young children, and how abuse of the elderly was rife in communities.
The committee also heard allegations of police involvement in crimes including extortion, accepting bribes from and working with gang members, as well as claims that victims and their family members were frequently turned away when reporting crimes.
Committee Chairperson Ian Cameron said the summit forms part of a broader process which will also include site visits among other next steps.
“It will be a foundational laying process for this bigger gang-related violence inquiry,” Cameron said. “It will certainly go into next year, 2027. It is not something that we are just going to rush.” (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
