Civil society organisations visit gang stricken Manenberg

On September 10, about 30 people from the Social Justice Coalition, Ndifuna Ukwazi, Equal Education, Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum and the Open Society Foundation were led by Manenberg resident Roegchanda Pascoe around the area including two schools which have been affected by ongoing gang violence.

Pascoe, who is from the Manenberg Development Co-ordinating Structure, confirmed the situation has been bad the last two weeks as seen in media reports. But, she said, “People refuse to come here because they have the mentality that as soon as they set foot in Manenberg, they will be shot. But it is not like that. Yes, there is gang violence, but there are also parts of Manenberg that are quiet and no violence is happening.”

She showed the group Renoster Road which has been the fighting turf between two rival gangs — the Hard Livings and the Americans. A community policing forum member said 14 people have been killed in the road.

Not only has the Manenberg gang violence affected the community but it has also affected the schools in the area. Some gang members are learners at some of these schools.

One of the two schools visited was Silverstream High School which is still very much affected by gangs even though there are now metro police officers on the premises.

One of the teachers, Ganief Millward, said every day the first thing he did in the morning was to force learners to go into class. “We have learners who simply do not want to be in school. They want to sit outside and sell cigarettes and gamble. Some just come to school to meet up with their friends. We have law enforcement here but gangsters still come in. Just last week members of the Americans gang came and learners were afraid. I had to walk up to them and kindly ask them to leave, but before they did they asked for money. I gave them R5 and they left. The situation here will never change because we are not getting any support from government departments.”

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) closed down 14 schools over two days in the area last month, after teachers and principals from the affected schools marched to the WCED to demanded a meeting.

“Our learners are losing hope; one of them, a matriculant, asked me the other day, ‘Meneer, waar gaan ek werk kry volgende jaar as hulle hoor ek kom van Manenberg af? (Sir, how will I get a job next year when they find out that I come from Manenberg?).’ How does one answer that?” asked Millward.

Zackie Achmat from Ndifuna Ukwazi said a lot needed to be done. He mentioned that together with all the organisations and the community of Manenberg a people’s commission into the violence should be started. He also said the solidarity visit was the first but it was not the last.