In a frustrating twist of events a public meeting about the ongoing gun violence in Cafda was cancelled due to yet more shootings.
The meeting was suppose to take place on Saturday September 1 and was called to come up with a plan to try and stabilise the area.
Several people have been shot and killed in Cafda over the past two months, including toddler Tashwill Junior (TJ) Nel.
TJ, who was just 1 year and nine months old, was shot in a drive-by shooting while sitting on his uncle’s lap in a parked car in Komlossy Street in July.
Several meetings and marches have been called to address the issue and find solutions to the gang warfare but the violence has not been quelled, in fact, it has worsened.
Although Steenberg police are not allowed to disclose the exact number, residents say over 30 people have been shot in Cafda over the past two to three months.
Community worker Aubrey Robinson called the meeting on Saturday September 1 after a young mother and others were shot last week.
“We are gatvol of the shootings. There are daily shootings and innocent people are losing their lives. We need a strategic plan because as things stand, police are not able to deal with the problem in Cafda and residents are becoming despondent,” he said.
Mr Robinson said on the day of the planned meeting, a shooting took place at the spot where they were suppose to gather in Komlossy Street.
“A man on a bike pulled out a gun and shot a rival gangster. I cancelled it because I was afraid there would be reprisals. A lot of people are getting to the point where they want to take the law into their own hands because this is becoming a nightmare and we feel like we are prisoners in our own neighbourhood.
“Last week in one evening there were about 30 shots fired. When is this going to stop?” asked Mr Robinson.
Meanwhile, the family of a young mother is preparing to bury her this week.
On Tuesday August 28, at 10.30am, Miceala Youde, 21, was on her way to the Retreat Community Health Centre when she was shot and killed at a shop on the corner of Komlossy and Blagden streets.
The young mother, along with her sister and three young nephews, were on their way to fetch her mother, a heart patient, at the health centre in 11th Avenue.
On their way they stopped at a tuck shop to buy her nephew sweets when she was gunned down.
Her aunt, who did not want to be named, said Micaela, her mother and sister were going somewhere after her mother’s hospital visit.
“While her mother was sitting at the day hospital, Micaela was wheeled in to the emergency room. At first her mother didn’t know it was her but was traumatised when she realised it was Micaela,” she said.
Micaela died at the Retreat Community Health Centre.
Her cousin, who also did not want to be named, said she was an amazing person who lived for her daughter, mother and family.
“She was humble, hard-working, loving and wise beyond her years. She gave her heart to the Lord three months ago but now she was robbed of her life and in such a brutal way. Now her 1-year-old daughter will grow up without a mother. She will be missed,” she said.
Three other men, aged 27, 28 and 32, were also shot and wounded in the same shooting incident.
Steenberg police communications officer, Warrant Officer Wesley Twigg, confirmed that several people were shot and wounded in Steenberg, Retreat and Cafda on the same day as Micaela. “Later on the same day at 12.10pm, two men aged 27 and 46, were shot in Beethoven Street,” he said.
At about 8pm on August 30, a 28-year-old man was shot and killed in Komlossy Street in Cafda and on Friday August 31, at 3.30am, a 33-year-old man was shot and killed in Canute Street in Lavender Hill. All these cases are being investigated by Steenberg police.
Mr Robinson pleaded to gangsters to stop the shootings. “What is it about? Why can it not be resolved for the benefit of the community?” asked Mr Robinson.
Anyone with any information about these shootings can contact Steenberg SAPS on 021 702 9000 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.