NYANGA residents say living in the country’s murder capital means living in a constant state of fear – with some saying that in their time in the community, they have seen as many as 10 people being killed.
In 2012/13, 9 284 crimes were reported in Nyanga. These included 263 murders.
Domestic worker Mpumi Nkosi said she fears making her way in the dark to board a bus at 5am to get to work in Sea Point.
“It feels like you could be robbed at any time of the day, anywhere in Nyanga. This area has become so unsafe and dangerous. Years back when I was a teenager we could walk late at night and walk the streets freely.
“Today we have teenagers walking late at night with guns and knives robbing older people and creating a dangerous environment. The way things have changed is amazing.”
In 2012/13 there were 201 attempted murders in Nyanga, and 413 sexual crimes.
In 2011/12, there were 161 attempted murders, and 296 sexual crimes.
There were 952 incidents of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in 2012/13, down from 1 046 the year before, and 631 incidents of common assault. The number of robberies was 427 – the highest since 2008/09.
Asked about Nyanga’s status as the murder capital, Nkosi said: “I have been living here for 25 years and I can easily recall almost 10 murders I have witnessed or heard of. It is really the murder capital.”
Varsity student Themba Mamkeli said alcohol and the large number of shebeens had a direct bearing on the incidence of crime.
“At weekends, youngsters go to the shebeens and they drink till they can’t any more. When they are drunk, they fight. My high school friend, who is now a gangster, was stabbed twice at a shebeen during a fight over a girl.
“If the shebeens were closed down, then maybe the murder rate in our area would be lower.
“I also think drugs and the drug trade and the fight for turf fuels all the killings in this area. The sad thing is that it is mostly our young people who have been affected badly by the crime.”
A business owner, Frank Muleleli, who is from Tanzania, said: “I have been here for four years. If I could live somewhere else, I definitely would. It is not safe here. I have been robbed five times this year and walking home is dangerous. I have no other choice but to survive here.”
Provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer was summoned to Parliament last month to answer for severe staff shortages at the Nyanga Police Station, where 56 detectives are overburdened, with 9 000 cases among them and one detective alone loaded with 600 dockets.
When Parliament’s portfolio committee on police visited the Nyanga Police Station earlier last month, MPs were told that the average caseload for detectives was close to 200 cases at any time.
It also emerged that Nyanga Police Station did not have any crime intelligence officers.
In Camps Bay, meanwhile, residents feel fairly safe and unaffected by crime.
With only 849 incidents in 2012/13 – almost half the 1 607 in 2008/09 – statistics showed Camps Bay was one of the safest suburbs in the country.
There were no murders in that financial year, although there were two attempted murders, 10 sexual crimes and an all-time low of five assaults with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Residents and business owners said the low level of crime was a result of improved patrols by the police and investment in private security.
Restaurateur Craig Martin, who moved to Cape Town from Scotland in 2005, said he had been unaware of any crime incidents in the past 18 months.
“I have never seen a single problem in this area. It is totally safe here,” he said.
“We are open late at night and yet there are no problems. There are no vagrants begging for money or any other criminal elements.”
Martin also said the high visibility of security patrols by private security guards made Camps Bay safer than other areas.
“All the hotels and businesses have their own security. I have never felt safer.”
Fellow restaurateur Bradley Mamne, who has been in Camps Bay for 16 years, said: “You would have the odd fight here and there at New Year’s Eve parties or during the Christmas period.
“It’s not like these sort of incidents occur every day or every weekend.”
Mamne said there was no sense of fear in the community.
“It’s not perfect here, but there are few incidents. I feel good about living here.”