City offers full support to SAPS investigation into shooting of Manenberg five-year-old

07 January 2025

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has condemned the shooting of a five-year-old boy in apparent gang crossfire in Manenberg while en route to a local tuckshop with his father. Two women also reportedly sustained injuries from shots fired. The City offers its full support to assist SAPS to pursue justice in the wake of these shootings. Read more below:

'Our hearts go out to the affected family, and we pray for the full recovery of the five-year-old boy as well as the two women injured in the crossfire. The City is ready to assist the SAPS investigation in any way possible, through not only our officers on the ground, but also our safety technology investments in Manenberg and broader precincts, including gunshot detection tech. It can never be acceptable that children are not able to walk safely to a local tuckshop with a parent, and people should not live in daily fear of crime in their neighbourhoods. This is why it is our goal to do everything possible to help SAPS fight gang, gun and drug crime in particular,' said Mayor Hill-Lewis. 

'I have been in touch with some residents of Manenberg who have sent information on this matter, which I have reported to the relevant Metro Police officers and our SSIU for them to also share with SAPS. I am grateful for their courage in being willing to speak up and can give them confidence that their identities will not be revealed. The City is able to assist SAPS in investigations like this and others when given the opportunity, given our investments in various safety technologies, such as gunshot detection in the Manenberg area and others, CCTV, Automatic Number Plate Recognition, and eye-in-the-sky aerial surveillance. Through these investments, the City is able to recover hundreds of illegal firearms annually and support SAPS investigations to gain convictions,' said Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.

A total of 114 illegal guns were confiscated by authorities in Manenberg and the adjacent Philippi/Hanover Park precinct over a three-month period according to the most recent crime stats for Q2 2024, with both stations among the highest levels of gun confiscations provincially in part due to gunshot detection technology and rapid response assistance to SAPS.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office