Vicious girl gangs are terrorising the Cape Flats.
There has been a spate of brutal stabbings involving self-styled female gangsters in recent weeks.
They organised themselves into groups aligned with gangs formed by their boyfriends.
But now they have created their own distinct identities and are attacking rival female gangs in brutal knife battles.
The best-known she-gangs are the Voora Babes and their deadly rivals the Vatos Babes.
Residents in Khayelitsha have reported a dramatic rise in incidents involving girl gangs.
They say many of these teenage girls are also being used to courier drugs or hide weapons for their boyfriend gangsters.
One 17-year-old girl who wishes to remain anonymous says female thugs carry weapons like knives, screwdrivers, homemade knives and pokers in their schoolbags to arm their boyfriends when a fight breaks out.
“They hide dangerous weapons in their schoolbags,” she tells the Daily Voice.
“And they also spy on the movement of their lovers’ rival gangs.
“They tell their boyfriends where their rivals can be found.
“They also fight like boys by attacking their rivals.”
The latest stabbing occurred on Monday when a 16-year-old girl from Harare Section 38 was stabbed by a group of 10 young women while on her way home from church.
Rival gangs in Khayelitsha remain dominated by teenage boys.
But residents say increasing numbers of young girls are organising themselves along the same lines.
They mostly take the names of the gangs their male counterparts belong to.
These include the Voora Babes representing the Voora gang and the Vato Babes representing the Vato-Slokos, a local version of the infamous LA Vatos-Lokos gang.
The Vatos-Babes, based in Harare Section 38 and 37, whose slogan is “Never Surrender”, are engaged in a deadly turf war with rivals the Voora Babes, who hail from Harare Section 33, Makhaya and Ilitha Park.
There are also sub-groupings within these gangs – the Italian Babes and Mexico-babes are aligned to the Voora gang, while Black B!tch on Board (BBOD), Black B***h Under Cover (BBUC), Fait Babes and Mandonsela Company (MDC) are allied to the Vato-Slokos.
The victim of Monday’s attack says she was on her way home from church when two girls approached her and asked if she was a Vato Babe.
“I said no – they didn’t buy my story. One of them (slapped) me,” she says.
“I was so scared, they were carrying knives and golf sticks. I kept on saying I’m not a Vato. They pulled a knife and stabbed me in my back but I managed to escape and run.”
The girl says she did not go to hospital and refused to open a case, saying her parents do not know she is part of a gang.
But she vows: “I will get my revenge, that is a promise.”
Another 14-year-old Voora Babe member says she and a group of friends formed the gang after a girl was attacked by a Vato Babe earlier this year “because they were looking for her boyfriend – that’s when we knew we were not safe,” she says.
“I was once beaten by the Vato-Boys in Harare.
“They beat us with golf sticks but luckily no one was stabbed. Since then we’ve been looking for revenge, that’s why we are attacking girls.”
Harare resident Nosango Mvala says the girls fight “every Friday”.
“They were carrying pangas and golf sticks but most of the time they were throwing stones at each other,” she says.
She says the fights only ended when a group of boys from Ilitha Park ran in to “save their girls”.
Residents claim their schoolgrounds are being turned into battlefields.
“It’s sad because parents are working during the day,” Samora Machel resident Jongisizwe Makhwa, 45, says.
“These girls are roaming around the streets and they are forced to join the gangs.
“Something has to be done fast to stop this.”
South African National Civic Organisation director Fezekile Gubevu says meetings had been held with the girl gangs in an attempt to end the violence – but none have been successful.
Gubevu urges parents who are aware of their kids’ activities to come forward with information.
Daily Voice