‘A dangerous thing’: S Africa’s gang-ridden townships fear army deployment
World • 3d ago
Critics are wary of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to send the military to tackle crime, drugs and gangs in three provinces.
Cape Town, South Africa – Two ominous letters are spray-painted on a wall at the entrance to Tafelsig, a township in Mitchells Plain on the outskirts of Cape Town: HL – the insignia of the Hard Livings gang, which has threatened communities there for five decades.
It’s a February day soon after the president’s state of the nation address, in which Cyril Ramaphosa boldly announced he’d be deploying the army to communities across South Africa to tackle the growing crisis of crime, drugs and gangs. But in Tafelsig, which will likely be part of the new military operation, most people seem unbothered by the news.
Mitchells Plain is on the Cape Flats – a series of...