Cape killing fields: a baby and a young girl among 270 dead in bloody July

A two-month-old boy and 12-year-old girl are part of the death toll in Cape Town as gang and taxi-related violence surge again.

- By Caryn Dolley

A baby boy and a young girl were among those killed in the most recent spate of shootings in South Africa's gangsterism capital, the Western Cape.

For years, children have been caught in the crossfire, hit by stray bullets, but these crimes are not normal. They must be treated as the outrageous anomalies they are — apathy is not an option.

Two-month-old Moegsien Isaacs died after he was struck by a stray bullet while he was inside his Bonteheuwel home on Friday, 22 August.

The Hard Livings are among the gangs active in the area.

Replying to a Daily Maverick query about Moegsien's murder, Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said on Tuesday: “The status of the case is still the same. No arrests have been made yet.”

Just three days before he was killed, 12-year-old Esmine Francke was murdered in Wallacedene when a stray bullet struck her. An eight-year-old girl was also hurt, along with a third individual. Police did not specify the nature of their injuries.

The two girls had been playing outside when Esmine was fatally shot. A suspect has since been arrested.

On its Facebook page, Joostenberg Primary, her school, posted a tribute, saying she always had “a smile on her face” and “the softest caring heart for her friends and those around her”.

It is suspected both these shootings were linked to gangs.

Incessant shootings

In addition to gang battles around Cape Town, there has been a surge in taxi-related conflict. The combined violence has been concentrated in and around the historically poorer Cape Flats.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has not released its latest official crime statistics, but Daily Maverick understands that there were nearly 270 murders recorded last month at the Western Cape's 30 “murder” police stations (so-called because of the high number of killings reported at each) alone.