{"id":102194,"date":"2025-11-12T12:32:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102194"},"modified":"2025-11-12T12:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:36:15","slug":"experts-warn-gangsterism-in-gauteng-has-reached-national-crisis-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/experts-warn-gangsterism-in-gauteng-has-reached-national-crisis-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts Warn Gangsterism in Gauteng Has Reached National Crisis Levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 12 November 2025 | 09:30 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

South African police carry out a large-scale operation in the Westbury area of Johannesburg in April 2023. (File photo by Ihsaan Haffejee\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The recent surge in gang-related violence across Gauteng communities, including Westbury and Reiger Park, has reignited national debate over the government\u2019s failure to curb gangsterism\u2014long regarded as a Cape Flats crisis. Two people were shot dead while sitting on a porch in Westbury, and six others were gunned down in drive-by shootings in Reiger Park, leaving at least six more injured.<\/p>\n

Experts now warn that gangsterism has become a \u201cnational crisis\u201d<\/em> that threatens South Africa\u2019s social fabric and national security. Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> Executive Director of the FW de Klerk Foundation, Christo van der Rheede, urged government to take decisive action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe run the same risk here that Colombia faced under Pablo Escobar. Gangsters infiltrated the state and went on a murderous campaign. We must not wait until it\u2019s too late,\u201d he cautioned.<\/p>\n

Van der Rheede, a former school principal, described how deeply entrenched gang influence has become in local communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents used to phone me over weekends saying their kids are being held hostage by gangsters. Even primary school pupils are being drawn in. This is not just a Cape Flats issue, it\u2019s spreading throughout the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chad Thomas, CEO of IRS Forensic Investigations, echoed these concerns, adding that gangsterism has expanded far beyond the Western Cape.<\/p>\n

\u201cGangsterism is a South African problem. We\u2019ve had incidents in Phoenix, Port Elizabeth, and Johannesburg\u2019s East Rand. It\u2019s the same pattern, turf wars filling the vacuum of leadership within the gangs,\u201d Thomas explained.<\/p>\n

He criticised what he called government\u2019s \u201cBand-Aid approach\u201d<\/em> to crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a decisive long-term plan. We lack experienced detectives and leadership within SAPS. Despite claims of adding 10,000 new officers a year, attrition rates cancel out those gains. It\u2019s wholly insufficient for a country of over 62 million people,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Van der Rheede attributed the escalation to years of political interference and the erosion of police capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have politicised the entire police system. Commissioners are appointed for allegiance, not merit. What kind of dignity or equality exists when people in Reiger Park live in fear of being shot any time?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Both experts agree that without political will and a depoliticised, intelligence-driven police force, gang violence will continue to escalate.<\/p>\n

As Gauteng reels from the latest wave of shootings, calls are growing louder for gangsterism to be declared a National Crisis<\/em>, a move that may finally compel government to confront one of South Africa\u2019s most pervasive and deadly social threats.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Ahmed Waja, Christo Van Der Rheede and Chad Thomas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 12 November 2025 | 09:30 CAT The recent surge in gang-related violence across Gauteng communities, including Westbury and Reiger Park, has reignited national debate over the government\u2019s failure to curb gangsterism\u2014long regarded as a Cape Flats crisis. Two people were shot dead while sitting on a porch in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Gangsterism.jpg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qAi","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 11:46:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}