Cape Town - The Hanover Park Community Police Forum (CPF) has called on the community to join them in prayer, following continuous unrest and violent crimes committed in the area.
The CPF with religious leaders will host an interfaith prayer initiative on Thursday in Algoa Court from 6pm. This follows a spate of murders of innocent people.
The community is still reeling after a four-year-old girl, Chloe van der Westhuizen, was among five people shot and wounded in Algoa Court last week. She is at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital after being struck in the head during a gang-related shooting.
Imam Mogamat Salieg Isaacs said several such interfaith prayer sessions were being held in communities afflicted with high levels of crime.
“It's about social consciousness, mobilising the masses. The gangsters in Hanover Park come out and they terrorise the people, then the people stay inside. Beside Covid-19, the gangsters keep the community in lockdown in Hanover Park, and sometimes, if we have programmes, they come out and they feel free.”
CPF youth co-ordinator Yaseen Johaar said there was no police visibility in Hanover Park.
“We’ve reached a point where these criminals have crossed the line. In the same breath, authorities have failed our community, there are no real extra forces on the ground.”
CPF spokesperson Kaashiefa Mohammed said: “The interfaith initiative is our first step towards building bridges among our community, starting with our religious clergy. It's a start where we want to eradicate gangsters not just temporarily, but permanently.”
Reverend Dawn van Heerden said it was up to religious leaders to step in for communities such as Hanover Park.
“The reason for joining the interfaith sessions is to reach out to the poor, the elderly the youth. People need God's word. People that have been abused, neglected by family, the homeless may be crying out for help,” she said.
Cape Argus