Acting Police Minister Calls For Stronger Anti-Gang Unit After Deadly Westbury Shooting

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has urged authorities to strengthen the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) as South Africa grapples with escalating organised crime networks and criminal syndicates.

Cachalia made the remarks while visiting families affected by a mass shooting that took place on Wednesday in Westbury, a suburb of Johannesburg.

The shooting claimed the lives of two people and left three others wounded, including a 15-month-old baby who sustained gunshot injuries.

Cachalia said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is in the process of deploying troops to several crime-affected provinces to support the South African Police Service in internal security operations.

“I want to convene a meeting of those community structures in all the affected areas, bring them all together and have a conversation with them about what role the community can play in supporting these increased efforts to deal with the problem of gang violence.

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“It’s very heartbreaking. Here we have a 15-year-old child who died and who was injured. The mother passed away. I am going to visit the baby girl at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital again. There are parts of the country where deployment has already started.”

He added that the deployment of soldiers requires additional preparation.

“It is going to take a little bit longer than originally expected, and the reason for that is that, you know, people are raising legitimate concerns about the risks associated with deploying the army because the soldiers are not trained in policing.

“So we have to ensure that we take them through a process. You can call it a training process or understanding their role and also the limits of their responsibility so that we avoid a situation where, you know, people are hurt, caught in the line of fire, and so forth.

“So we want to make sure that the army understands its role and that that training is taking place.”

Government Pushes To Strengthen Anti-Gang Unit Amid Rising Organised Crime

Cachalia emphasised the need for stronger crime-fighting measures, particularly through the Anti-Gang Unit, to tackle entrenched criminal networks operating in communities affected by gang violence.

He also indicated that community participation would be important in supporting intensified law-enforcement operations aimed at reducing violent crime.

Westbury Community Leaders Demand Urgent Police Action

Meanwhile, Ward 82 councillor in the City of Johannesburg, Marilyn Smouse, has voiced frustration following the latest shooting in Westbury.

Smouse said violent crime continues to plague the community and claimed that security interventions announced previously have yet to be implemented.

She said residents were told the army would be deployed to the area, but the move has not materialised.

“No, man, this is rather unfair that everything just gets swept under the carpet. No, no, no. No, I am not happy. And I told this to the minister in a closed-door meeting that we had the last time here at JMPD. This is what we come and do here.

“It can finish early in the morning; this is the only thing. Those families are crying. The families are crying. Now we must go to a hospital. We must go and visit elsewhere. Why don’t you approach the family and the residents of Westbury and the surrounding areas that are undergoing this dilemma every day?”

She also questioned when the promised military deployment would take place.

“We said that we are bringing in the army. Where’s the army? When is the army coming? This cannot be the order of the day, that the minister comes here for five minutes. What I get to do is be in my ward.

“So Fietas Police Station is my ward. They are being disrespectful. I’ve been calling them from 7 o’clock this morning because we saw this notice going out. This cannot be right,” says Smouse.

Smouse said the ongoing violence continues to claim young lives in the community.

“My concern is that the army needs to come in because our children are dying on the streets of Westbury prematurely every day. Glenlora Park and all other areas. This cannot be the order of the day, that he comes here with his whole entourage and does not do anything.

“Going to visit a baby in the hospital. What about the families in Westbury that are waiting for the minister? There’s a notice that went out to say that the minister will be here. This is wrong, what they are doing. What have they done since last year? They have done absolutely nothing. Let them come for me. I said it. They have done nothing.”