Cape's bloody weekend | 22 dead, 16 critically injured in spate of shootings

A violent weekend across Cape Flats communities has left at least 22 people dead and 16 critically injured, prompting the African Congress for Change (A.C.C.) to call for a state of emergency and the reinstatement of the death penalty.

The deadly wave of shootings and stabbings struck multiple neighbourhoods between Friday, October 24, and Sunday, October 26, 2025.

The hardest-hit areas include Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Lavender Hill, Delft, Bonteheuwel, Seawinds, Elsies River, Kraaifontein and Philippi.

A.C.C. president Masizole Mnqasela said communities were “under siege” and accused government of losing control of public safety.

“Gang violence has escalated beyond the capacity of normal policing. The state must act before communities collapse under fear,” Mnqasela said.

The violence spiked across the peninsula in a series of unrelated attacks. In Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, two people were shot and one killed on Friday night.

The same evening, a husband and wife were ambushed and shot at a fuel station in Manenberg,  the wife later succumbed to her injuries.

On Saturday, a 19-year-old was shot dead in Lavender Hill’s Aspeling Court, while a woman was gunned down in Clarke Estate, Elsies River.

In Delft, another man was found shot dead in Aerobat Road.

By Sunday, the violence had spread to the West Coast when a man was shot dead in Malmesbury. In Bonteheuwel, a father was stabbed to death by his son in Almond Street.

In Lotus River, five people were shot, leaving one dead and four in critical condition. Other shootings were recorded in Beacon Valley, Heideveld, Maitland and Eastridge.

“These incidents clearly show that the region is under siege,” Mnqasela said.

The A.C.C. is demanding that government declare a state of emergency on the Cape Flats, modelled on the COVID-19 lockdowns, but aimed at crushing gang violence.

The party proposes:

• A nightly curfew in high-crime zones
• Restricted movement in and out of gang hotspots
• Rapid police deployment squads, supported by the defence force
• Mandatory roadblocks and checkpoints
• Community lockdown protocols to reinforce safety
• Fast-tracked prosecutions for violent offenders

“We demand that the Government immediately declare a state of emergency in the Cape Flats, to restore order and protect citizens,” said Mnqasela.

The A.C.C. also wants Parliament to reinstate the death penalty for what it calls “heinous gang-related murders”, including crimes involving multiple victims, killings of women and children, and cases of “extreme cruelty”.

“We believe that the death penalty offers the strongest possible message that society will no longer tolerate the wanton killing of innocent citizens,” said Mnqasela.

Capital punishment was abolished in South Africa by the Constitutional Court in its 1995 ruling in S v Makwanyane. Reinstating it would require a constitutional amendment.

The A.C.C. urged both national and provincial governments to act with urgency, saying residents were being abandoned to relentless violence.

“We refuse to accept a future in which the Cape Flats becomes a silent graveyard for our youth and neighbours. We demand action, we demand justice, and we demand protection,” said Mnqasela.

“Until normal life returns, we shall press, we shall mobilise, and we shall not relent.”

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