[WATCH] Child gangs face arrest: Manenberg cops, CPF vow to put an end to stone throwing terror
MENACE: Rival child gangs seen throwing stones at each other
Crime fighters in Manenberg have their hands full with child gangs who are terrorising residents and motorists with stone throwing fights.
The community says five “gangs” take to the streets each afternoon to attack each other.
Manenberg police station commander, Brigadier Sanele Zama, says the fights take place at the circle on The Downs Road, and motorists and pedestrians are having to dodge massive stones being hurled in the air.
“These fights started recently and every day around 3pm, the groups gather and start attacking each other,” he says.
“The boys in these fights are as young as nine years old.
“When questioned, we found out that this started with an argument over a girl and has now escalated.”
Zama says police got a skrik when they discovered that the boys had created their own gang names.
“In the eight courts you have the Luxury Kids, the KGBs come from the Kathleen court area, the Okka Boys are in Renoster Road, the Lover Boys are in Peta Court and the Vikings are in The Sevens.
“We are very concerned and we will be beefing up the patrols and we are warning these children that if they are caught, we will be arresting them and sending them to court even if they are minors.
“At this stage, there is no gang violence in Manenberg and these children pose a danger to the community.”
Vanessa Adriaanse of the Community Police Forum says meetings were called with various organisations and neighbourhood watches to tackle the issue.
“The problem is when they see the patrollers or the police, they run away,” she says.
“People do not think it is serious but it takes one stone to kill someone.
“There are major concerns as the parents are scared when they come out of work and taxis and police vans have been damaged.
“We are tackling this head on and we are calling for the parents to also be prosecuted as many of them are just watching these fights.”