Assault

“In a matter of seconds a man is dead “¦ for snatching a handbag”

“We don’t need to focus on fighting crime ... we need to heal our communities,” testified Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela at the Khayelitsha Inquiry into policing this morning. Her testimony described the social and psychological trauma of the Khayelitsha community, and how that results in vigilante killings.

Adam Armstrong

News | 16 May 2014

Nyanga residents attack suspected TV thief

Nyanga residents are looking for a 20 year old man accused of stealing a plasma TV from his neighbour and said to be a rapist and a gangster.

Pharie Sefali

News | 23 April 2014

Enkanini’s “field of death”

Residents of Enkanini informal settlement in Khayelitsha say they have taken it upon themselves to deal with thugs that are terrorising the community.

Johnnie Isaac

News | 14 April 2014

Frustrated residents in Makhaya, Khayelitsha, arrested after taking the law into their own hands

Residents in Makhaya section 23 were arrested at 3am this morning, accused of chasing people out of their homes. While the police were arresting people, two houses in the area were being broken into by criminals.

Pharie Sefali

News | 18 March 2014

Religious leaders ask their congregations to do more than pray for an end to gang violence on the Cape Flats

On 14 March, Imam Rashied Omar, chairperson of the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum (WCRLF), hosted Manenberg community leaders at the Claremont Main Road mosque, where he officiates.

Yazeed Kamaldien

News | 17 March 2014

Former gang member calls for the army to pacify the Cape Flats “civil war”

Former gang member Mervin Lewis says what is happening in Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu is not a gang fight, but a low intensity civil war.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 12 March 2014

Manenberg schools battle for safety

Lesley Knight has been teaching at Edendale Primary School for 27 years. She has witnessed some of the worst incidents of gang violence in Manenberg.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 25 February 2014

Stumbling across vigilante violence

Yet another vigilante incident took place in Endlovini, Khayelitsha, at 5pm on 20 February on the open field at the corner of Mew Way and Steve Biko Road.

Adam Armstrong

News | 24 February 2014

GroundUp journalist harassed at Home Affairs

A GroundUp journalist was left shaken after she was harassed by security guards at the refugee reception centre in Cape Town while reporting a story.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 2 September 2013

UWC students assaulted on their way home from university bar

Campus Protection Services at the University of Western Cape (UWC), Bellville campus, has been accused of negligence by five students after they were were assaulted in the early hours of 11 August by three men. The students -- four female, who have declined to be named for safety reasons, and one male, Sipho* (name changed) -- were returning to their residences from the Barn, a university bar.

Tariro Washinyira and Thuliswa Martins

News | 28 August 2013

Malawian man paralysed after brutal assault

A Malawian man, Simon Phiri, 44, was attacked by three robbers in Masiphumelele, Fish Hoek in April 2013, on his way home from the shopping mall. The robbers searched his pockets, took his phone and money, then struck him with a golf stick on the head.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 13 August 2013

“The police & I”: a sex worker’s story

Richard is a 38-year-old, gay male sex worker. He was born in East London and has been based in Cape Town since 1999. He has been in “the business” (the sex work industry) for over 20 years.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 6 August 2013

Labour backs child beating ban

Sex scandals, amid accusations of conspiracy, strikes and ongoing fears of violence have dominated the news about trade unions over the past week and more. And the spectre of Wonderkop and the dead and crippled miners, both pre and post Marikana has continued to loom large.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 5 August 2013

Family beats up their gay tenant

Albert Kafuka heard his landlady's nephew shout, "I wonder why mum allows these ... sexual animals to stay in the house and bring in their dirty behaviours." Kafuka, who is gay, was then beaten up.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 12 June 2013

Metrorail security beats up commuter

Luke Turner was beaten up by Metrorail security guards last Monday for not having a ticket.

Margo Fortune

News | 30 April 2013

“I am not a woman abuser. I just have a short temper!”

Cynthia is beaten up frequently by her husband. She is 34 and has been married for eight years. She lives in Khayelitsha with her husband.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 27 February 2013