Under the power of the gun
10 Jan 2021
Young gun: A small boy carrying a toy gun runs through the Marikana informal settlement, near Philippi
East (above). The violence in the area continues with the City of Cape Town law enforcement team (below)
battling to patrol the gang-ridden communities. In July 2019 the army was deployed to the Cape Flats after
more than 70 people were killed over three days of fighting, a move that has been deemed by many as
unsuccessful. (David Harrison/M&G)
The yellow police tape had been cradling the street corner until a stiff Cape Flats breeze tossed it down the street to a nearby bush. Two men were gunned down the day before. Their bodies bled out, while from behind barred windows, children at the kindergarten took in the scene, noticing the shooters, their ages, their clothes, their tattoos, where they came from, where they went. In defiance of what adults may tell you about the integrity of child witnesses, the prevailing wisdom in gang-rife ar