Crime

Where are the cops, ask Masiphumelele residents

Masiphumelele residents gathered in shock today around the ashes of a young man killed in a mob justice attack in Myeza Road last night. Residents have been complaining about inadequate policing in the township, which does not have its own police station.

Bernard Chiguvare and Pasqua Heard

News | 16 September 2015

Helping Andiswa

On 17 August we reported how a 43-year-old woman — who we called Andiswa — was left disabled after an especially brutal rape. Readers asked how they could help. We're pleased to report that Iliso Care Society is helping out.

GroundUp Staff

Brief | 10 September 2015

Some of SA’s top companies are quietly breaking the law

Some of the top companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are flouting environmental laws and not telling their shareholders, according to a study by the Centre for Environmental Rights.

Alide Dasnois

Feature | 8 September 2015

Naked and dead in the dirt

The man was almost naked. He had burn marks on his arms. There was a sock on one of his feet and he lay facedown in the dirt. He was found dead in Mfuleni this morning after what appeared to be an act of mob justice.

Masixole Feni and Ashleigh Furlong

News | 7 September 2015

Conditions at Pollsmoor “profoundly disturbing”, says judge

Constitutional Court judge Edwin Cameron and his law clerks have published a scathing report of Pollsmoor Prison after visiting the remand centre — where awaiting trial prisoners are kept — and the women's centre on 23 April. Some of their findings are consistent with those reported by GroundUp in May.

GroundUp Staff

News | 4 September 2015

Coalition launched to decriminalise sex work

In the wake of Amnesty International’s vote to adopt a policy that supports sex work decriminalisation, the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work was launched in Cape Town on 27 August. The coalition consists of sex workers, activists, advocates and defenders of human rights.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 28 August 2015

Khayelitsha Commission: it’s up to the Minister now, says Zille

Until national police minister Nathi Nhleko signs the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry recommendations, 90 percent of them cannot be implemented, according to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 26 August 2015

We will not be silent on crime, say Khayelitsha organisations

Around 200 people from several social justice organisations took part in a march to parliament on Tuesday, for safety, equality and justice.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 25 August 2015

Campaigning for clean toilets and good cops: an interview with the SJC’s Axolile Notywala

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) has been at the forefront of two campaigns in recent years: improved toilet provision and better policing in Cape Town's townships. GroundUp did an in-depth interview with the organisation's Axolile Notywala.

GroundUp Staff

News | 21 August 2015

Marikana: reminders of a massacre

Three years ago on this day, the police shot dead 34 miners at Marikana. Here are some of the articles we've published since then that, sadly, remain current and relevant.

GroundUp Staff

Analysis | 16 August 2015

Not enough cops here, says head of Ocean View police

“I was walking at 5am to catch a taxi to go to work. Three people with their faces covered surrounded me and put me in the middle,” says Robert Makhoza, a resident of Masiphumelele.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 11 August 2015

Phiyega rejects recommendations of O’Regan Inquiry

Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega has “denied, disputed or redirected to the [Western Cape Provincial Government and City of Cape Town]” every recommendation of the O’Regan Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha.

GroundUp Staff and Bernard Chiguvare

News | 7 August 2015

Police warn of smash and grab crime in Eisleben Road in Crossroads

Police have warned motorists to be cautious on Eisleben Road and at the robots on Govan Mbeki Road in Crossroads.

Pharie Sefali

News | 5 August 2015

“Sex work should not cost me my life”

On a wet and windy Tuesday morning on the corner of Oak and Main roads in Kenilworth, people gathered to sing and dance on the pavement, many in bright orange T-shirts with the words, 'Sex work should not cost me my life' written across their fronts.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 5 August 2015

Taking your life in your hands on Metrorail

In the past year, 394 incidents of crime on trains were reported in the Western Cape according to Metrorail. “We are losing lives on overcrowded and dangerous trains,” said Cosatu Western Cape provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich last week at the launch of its Section 77 application to Nedlac relating to train transport in the Western Cape. A lack of security on the trains is a key concern of the campaign.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 3 August 2015

Khayelitsha residents stuck with severe lack of police resources

Eleven months after the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing released its finding that the South African Police Service (SAPS) allocation of resources was unfair and irrational, the situation has hardly improved. Khayelitsha residents still suffer from a severe lack of police resources and there are still reports of poor communication and distrust between the police and the community.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

News | 23 July 2015