'More kids than ever are being recruited into gangs'

CHILDREN as young as 12 are being sucked into the deadly vortex of gang violence in the Western Cape, used as decoys, gunmen, and drug couriers in a growing trend that experts warn is fuelling the province's child murder crisis.

- WENDY DONDOLO [e-mail]

According to the latest Western Cape Gang Monitor by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), more than one child was murdered every day in the province over a three-month period in 2024.

The spike is linked directly to gang violence, where children are either caught in crossfire or recruited into the gangs themselves.

"This sobering statistic is indicative of a wider trend: more children than ever before are being recruited into gangs in the Western Cape," the report states.

Children are seen as ideal recruits by gang leaders, less likely to be suspected by police, and more willing to prove themselves.