Crime

Family say police didn’t inform them of murder

Friends of Odwa Mafa, a 25-year-old CPUT student murdered on 2 August, are accusing the South African Police Service (SAPS) of insensitivity for failing to notify the student’s family of his death.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 21 August 2013

Manenberg gang violence

Western Cape Police conducted crime operations in the Manenberg area on 19 August as part of ongoing efforts to end gang violence as learners returned to school

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 20 August 2013

Man implicated in death of Khayelitsha youth activist found dead

A man was found dead on Thursday last week at Lwazi Street in Khayelitsha site B. He was later identified by the police as 22-year-old Wonke “Oscar” Mchasa.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

Brief | 14 August 2013

Protests against “harrasment” of Angy Peter

On Sunday activists from the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) staged a picket outside the Langa Methodist Church where National Police Commissoner Riah Phiyega was addressing a Women’s Day Service.

Pharie Sefali

News | 14 August 2013

Specialised Sexual Offences Court coming to Khayelitsha

GroundUp has learned that Khayelitsha will be getting a specialised Sexual Offences Court. Government announced that 22 new Sexual Offenses Courts are to be set up by the end of 2013.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 13 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

Will there be justice for Athenkosi’s killers?

“I am scared. The criminal who murdered my brother is still roaming the streets,” Nonkosi Nteyi told GroundUp, obviously distressed. “Worse, he is asking people for descriptions of each of my family members. Does he want to kill us as well?”

Tariro Washinyira

News | 31 July 2013

Constitutional Court to hear if Khayelitsha police inquiry should proceed

Next month, the Constitutional Court will hear the appeal by Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa after his application for an interdict to stop the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into policing in Khayelitsha was unsuccessful.The case is set for 6 August.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 30 July 2013

Jewish security organisation plays fast and loose with law

"He had me around the neck and he was huge so I had very little capacity to do anything much… I fell down and we went down the stairs and then we got into this car park …"

Yael Even Or

News | 17 July 2013

Residents of Mandalay worried about increase in burglaries

A series of robberies and break-ins has been occurring in Mandalay, a small residential area near Mitchell’s Plain. Initially a quiet area, Mandalay is currently a burglary hub.

Thandile Majivolo

News | 17 July 2013

How the police are failing rape survivors in Khayelitsha

There are severe problems with the way Khayelitsha police are handling rape cases explains Camila Osorio.

Camila Osorio

Feature | 10 July 2013

Homicidal kid gangsters of Nyanga East

Nyanga has one of the highest murder rates in the country. We interviewed several teenage gangsters who brag about their kills.

Pharie Sefali

News | 3 July 2013

Private Security: a law unto themselves?

The private security industry in South Africa is one of the largest in the world, with active registered security guards outnumbering police by almost three to one and eight security companies for every police station.

Craig Oosthuizen

Opinion | 26 June 2013

Petition calls for more time to comment on police green paper

Last Friday, 27 civil society organizations signed a letter directed at Ms Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service. The organisations requested more time to comment on the Green Paper on Policing that Ms Irish-Qhobosheane published last week.

Camila Osorio

News | 25 June 2013

Immigrants accuse cops of abuse as their businesses are destroyed

Immigrants who protested outside Kraaifontein Police station on Thursday 20 June claim that police officers assigned to the Wallacedene area yelled offensive statements at them. They also gave harrowing accounts of how they lost their livelihoods.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 25 June 2013