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Muizenberg Residents Chain Themselves to Parliament Over Gang Violence
Mothers at breaking point
On Friday, a small group of residents from Overcome Heights in Muizenberg took their frustration straight to the gates of Parliament. Chaining themselves to the entrance, the group, led mostly by mothers and community leaders, refused to leave until the state gave them answers about the escalating gang violence tearing through their neighbourhood.
Their protest followed a promise of a meeting earlier in the week, which never materialised. By the time they arrived in Cape Town, no minister or official came forward, leaving them to chain themselves in symbolic defiance. Songs and chants carried their message: they were not simply pleading for safety; they were demanding it.
Living with bullets through the roof
Community leader Karen Mentoor voiced the desperation of families living under constant fire. She spoke of children too traumatised to attend school and cleaners unable to enter the area because of fresh shootings. Innocent people had been killed while sleeping in their shacks, she said, as bullets tore straight through zinc roofs.
Mentoor stressed that their protest was not political theatre but an act of survival. Politicians, she argued, only appear during elections, making promises that never reach the streets of Muizenberg.
Politicians pressed on broken promises
Ward Councillor Mandy Marr stood alongside the protesters, backing their call for urgent intervention. She said repeated requests for more police resources had gone unanswered. Marr argued that national leaders were out of touch with the scale of the crisis in the Western Cape and called for devolved policing powers.
She painted a stark picture: innocent people were being shot, not gangsters. Gang tensions were rising, breakaway factions were forming, and the community was terrified. Families, she said, were sleeping under their beds at night to avoid stray bullets.
A community under siege
For residents of Overcome Heights, gang violence is not an abstract headline but an everyday reality. Another protester described how a woman was killed when a bullet pierced the roof of her shack. Calls for the Anti-Gang Unit to be deployed have gone unanswered, while police visibility in their streets remains minimal.
Parents spoke of the unbearable fear of raising children in an environment where stray bullets can enter homes without warning. They demanded an end to vague safety plans and asked for transparent, monitorable action: more specialised units, visible patrols, and decisive leadership.
A chain of desperation
As the day wore on, residents remained chained to Parliament’s gates, vowing not to move until officials faced them. Their protest was not only about broken promises but also about lives on the line.
The message from Muizenberg was clear: they are tired of words. What they want now is protection, accountability, and a future where children can walk to school without fear of being caught in the crossfire.
Also read: From the streets to a PhD: Declek Magubane’s remarkable journey at UKZN
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: Daily Voice
