Ramaphosa on gangs: Call the police - even if it’s your son, brother
President Cyril Ramaphosa says gang-violence cannot be eradicated if those who have intimate knowledge don’t come forward and report the matter.
Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele launched an anti-gang unit and strategy in Cape Town on Friday.
“Gangsters have now taken over the lives of the community. They want to rule supreme,” said Ramaphosa.
President @CyrilRamaphosa addresses members of the Hanover Park community in Cape Town ahead of the launch of the South African Police Servics Anti Gang Unit here in the Western Cape.#AntiGangUnit pic.twitter.com/XLw779KXyS
— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) November 2, 2018
Gangsterism has become a lived reality for the communities on the Cape flats but Ramaphosa vowed to residents that the situation will soon return to normal.
He said he was stirred by a passionate teenage who chose to stay away from school to convey to him that crime had taken over the community.
“I can no longer walk to school safely. When I go to school, I am afraid that I will be either kidnapped and raped or shot at,” she told Ramaphosa.
He urged South Africans to stand together to fight criminals, even if they’re family members.
“Even if it’s your son, your brother who’s a gangster you will be able to call quietly, and they will deal with them.”
Ramaphosa says he’s will also start the process of promulgating a law which compel parents to stand firm on the education of their children.
“Parents that don’t insist that children must be in school will be committing a crime. I am going to propose such a law because it is our responsibility as parents.”