A plan by Police Minister Bheki Cele to quell gang violence in Lavender Hill and Seawinds came under fire on Thursday.
Moments before Premier Helen Zille and Community Safety MEC Dan Plato were to visit the base camp erected in Military Road as part of Operation Thunder, a group of angry residents gathered to confront police.
Residents say the presence of more than 100 cops have done nothing to curb skollies from shooting while they cower on the floor dodging stray bullets.
Plato and Zille attended a presentation by Major-General Mpumelelo Manci, who said more than 100 cops had been sent to Hillview, Capricorn and Lavender Hill in recent months, where more than 1000 arrests had been made for drugs, guns, murder and attempted murder.
When questioned by Zille about the upset community, Manci said while police had support from the Community Police Forum (CPF), he admitted the project had not been as successful as it has in other areas like Ocean View and Uitsig.
“Those communities have taken ownership of the base camp and supply information and we make arrests. I am sure we will get there with Lavender Hill,” he said.
He also admitted the shootings continued despite the base camp.
Resident Rieduwaan Abrahams said: “Why does Zille come here today, but when innocent children die then you see nothing on the news (from her).”
Zille attempted to calm the crowd by explaining how the use of WhatsApp had helped residents in Ocean View to pass on information anony-
mously to police, but some residents said the gangsters would also use it and they feared for their lives.
“ Die ding(base camp) bedoel fokkol. Die gangsters worry nie van hulle nie. Hulle skiet nog altyd!” a woman shouted.
Zille and Plato left the area shortly afterwards as the crowd became volatile.