Kraaifontein residents in fear as gang violence spreads
The murder of two teens has made a fearful community all the more afraid of gangsters.
CAPE TOWN - Kraaifontein community leaders say the murder of two teenage girls has made an already fearful community all the more afraid to take a stand against gangsters who have been terrorising the area.
Both 17-year old Keesha Manuel and 16-year-old Nikieta Holly were laid to rest at the weekend after they were gunned down in Scottsville more than a week ago.
It's believed Manuel was a witness in a murder case involving several gang members.
Valdi van Reenen-Le Roux from the Trauma Centre, a Cape Town non-governmental human rights organisation, said the communities of Scottsville and neighboring Scottsdene are gripped by gangsterism and fear.
"How do we protect brave people like this young girl who came forward and said I witnessed this murder and I want to testify? Now she has been assassinated."
Counsellor Annie Domingo believes police officers here are failing victims of gang violence.
She said since the two teenagers were shot, this community is all the more afraid of speaking out against gangsters.
However, a police officer has told Eyewitness News there's no proof that the shooting was a revenge-killing, as residents suspect.