BONTEHEUWEL ward councillor Angus McKenzie has lashed out at ActionSA’s provincial chairperson, Dereleen James, following her comments questioning if a deadly smash-and-grab in the area is “a new normal”.
Smash-and-grabs along Jakes Gerwel have made headlines recently, with an incident on the evening of 1 April leaving one suspect dead.
According to McKenzie, a vehicle was attacked, and during the incident, one of the suspects was reportedly shot and killed.
SAPS spokesperson Wesley Twigg said that Bishop Lavis police are investigating the murder case of a 26-year-old man after a shooting incident occurred on the corner of Jakes Gerwel Drive and Jakkalsvlei Avenue, Bonteheuwel.
“Police members attended to a complaint of a shooting, and upon arrival on the scene, they found the victim, who sustained gunshot wounds to his body. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, and no arrests have been made yet,” Twigg said.
In response to the incident, James, the ActionSA’s newly-elected provincial chairperson, posted about it, showing an image of the suspect lying along the side of the road.
She wrote: “While driving home, a terrible incident occurred almost right in front of us. Here lies the lifeless body of a young boy who was shot and killed on Jakes Gerwel Drive after a smash-and-grab incident.
“As he ran into the open field, the motorist opened fire. Response from community, ‘Is reg so’. Reaction from the kids, they continued playing around the body. Response from law enforcement, this happens daily on this strip. Is this really our new norm?”
Over the weekend, McKenzie responded to James, who is also a member of the Portfolio Committee on Police, stating that this has been the norm for years.
“Dereleen James, now you ask if this is our ‘new norm’. For those of us who live, work and travel through the Cape Flats every day, this has been the norm for years.
“On the Cape Flats, people are not disconnected from reality,” McKenzie said.
“We live with the consequences of crime every single day. We fight for safer streets every single day. And we will continue to fight for solutions that actually protect our people. Because for us, this is not a social media moment. This is our daily reality.”
On Monday morning, both James and McKenzie have posted about another smash-and-grab incident which occurred along Jakes Gerwel.
Anyone with any information about these incidents can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.