Cape Flats children as young as five are being sucked into gangs for no more than a burger or a pair of shoes.
As hundreds of soldiers were deployed this week in crime-ridden urban areas across South Africa, one Cape Flats mother told of her anguish after her son was lured into a gang last year at the age of 13. She recently found out her son and his friends were collecting protection money from other school kids.
“I feel trapped. I cannot afford to leave this area. I live with constant fear that one day my child could fall victim to mob justice,” she said. “Sometimes they are seen standing on street corners with known gang members.”
Pastor Mark Bloemstein of the True North Evangelical Community Church in Westridge, Mitchells Plain, said he had recently met a five-year-old boy who was on the threshold of joining a gang.
“His mother was on drugs, he had never met his father, and he lived in a two-bedroom house with 20 adults. The adults were not married, and partners changed in front of him,” Bloemstein said.
He said gangs deliberately target children who show signs of emotional detachment.
“It starts small, carrying drugs from one place to another, and in return, they get a burger or a pair of shoes. Gangsters target children from disadvantaged families,” he said.
Another parent told the Sunday Times her 17-year-old son had been murdered in 2017 after he refused to join a gang.
“Children are threatened into joining. My son told me they wanted to initiate him. When he refused, they killed him near a shop close to our house,” she said. Only the gunman was arrested, while those who ordered the killing remained free.
Children are threatened into joining. My son told me they wanted to initiate him. When he refused, they killed him
— Cape Flats mother
The Mitchells Plain safety & development forum says gangs are increasingly targeting “alarmingly” young people for recruitment, with the peak window between 10 and 14, when children are vulnerable to peer pressure, the desire to belong and the lure of material rewards.
“In many cases, parents are younger than 21 when raising a child,” forum chair Abie Isaacs said.
“People are forced to choose between buying bread and electricity, while nearby gang members live visibly lavish lifestyles. That contrast makes recruitment easier.
“Children are forced to get tattoos to show affiliation. Imagine subjecting a child to that pain. Then they are taught how to use firearms and later placed on street corners to sell drugs.”
The forum warns that school holidays are particularly dangerous periods, as children lack supervision and structured activities.
Community activist and mentor Tyrone Parks said poverty and economic exclusion created the conditions for gangs to position themselves as providers.
“In homes where caregivers are absent or overwhelmed, gangs offer money, food and a sense of relief. Many young people are ‘NEET’ — not in education, employment or training — and without constructive outlets, they are highly susceptible,” he said.
In Gauteng, Eldorado Park community leader Dino Steyn this week raised alarm over the growing number of children being drawn into gangsterism, warning that poverty is pushing some as young as 14 into the criminal underworld to support their families.
On Wednesday, 2,200 soldiers were deployed for 12 months in Eldorado Park, the Cape Flats and elsewhere. In Gauteng, apart from taking on the gangs of Johannesburg, they will also combat zama zama activity — which is also their focus in North West and Welkom in the Free State. In the Eastern Cape, they will help police fight extortion syndicates, gang violence and drug networks, mainly in Gelvandale, Chetty and Kamesh (Nelson Mandela Bay); Humansdorp; and Jeffreys Bay.
Isaacs welcomed the deployment in the Cape Flats, saying it could play a crucial role in addressing the proliferation of gangs and illegal firearms. But he cautioned that a long-term strategy was needed beyond military intervention.
He said the South African Police Service, the provincial government and city authorities, which signed a co-operation agreement two years ago, should “go back to the drawing board to strengthen implementation”.
“There must also be a clear exit plan for when the SANDF withdraws, to ensure continuity and to further stabilise the area in a sustainable way.”
The co-operation pact, targeting crime hot spots on the Cape Flats, was signed after the city and the SAPS ironed out disagreements on the role of the metro’s law enforcement officers in fighting crime.
Additional reporting by Mduduzi Nonyane
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