The gang violence in Daveyton and Etwatwa, East Rand of Johannesburg increased when members of the same gang, the Raf-3, had a disagreement and some members decided to form their own gang, called OVL. This has led to a war between the two gangs. The OVL gang quickly gained numbers as teenagers from the township joined, and many more left the RAF-3 for the OVL gang. This all-out war has led to teenagers landing in hospitals and others being brutally murdered.
This has also disturbed the community as there is a rise in crime. The streets are even more unsafe for commuters. The gang war is beginning to affect children in schools as the gangs began to attack the local schools during school hours. This was the final straw and the community, fed up, decided to take the law into their own hands. The gang members are now at war with the community itself as they are being killed one by one by members of the community. Some gang members have fled and have not returned.
Recently there has also been an increase in small gangs, and one of them is called “West”. This group moves around the township mugging people in the streets, especially early in the morning and late at night. On Saturday, 8 August 2020, the gang invaded the Basothong Section in Daveyton around 8pm during the electricity load shedding. They beat and tortured a woman and her child. The woman recently had a stroke but the gang members didn’t care about this. The community is fuming with anger and wants to take matters into their own hands because of the many incidents of muggings and the increase in crime. The gang warfare has now separated the townships, young boys from Daveyton and Etwatwa are barred from visiting each other’s areas. The community is now living in fear, not knowing what might happen just walking in the streets.
This article was submitted on 11 August 2020. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
