By Mapaballo Borotho
- A 14-year-old girl and a taxi driver were killed in a mass shooting in Atlantis linked to ongoing taxi violence.
- MP Ian Cameron says the killings show a worrying pattern of escalating conflict in the area.
- While SANDF deployment may stabilise the situation temporarily, calls for deeper structural reform within law enforcement continue.
A mass shooting in Atlantis has claimed the lives of a 14-year-old girl and a taxi driver amid ongoing taxi violence in the area earlier this week.
Children are once again being killed in crossfire linked to taxi-related violence.
The incident is similar to a horrific 2023 shooting in Braamfontein, where a university student was killed by a stray bullet during a shootout between taxi drivers, just opposite the Wits Art Museum.
Member of Parliament Ian Cameron said the latest incident follows several recent multiple-victim shootings in the same area, all linked to escalating taxi conflict.
“The pattern is clear. The killings are becoming more brazen. Communities are living under siege,” said Cameron.
Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would be deployed to areas where violence is rife and affecting innocent people.
Cameron said the imminent deployment of the SANDF may provide short-term stabilisation because soldiers can hold ground, but they cannot run informant networks, manage complex organised crime investigations, or secure sustainable convictions.
“Structural reform within SAPS and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation remains the real requirement. The state’s constitutional duty is clear: protect the innocent. That duty cannot be fulfilled through budget announcements and deployments alone,” he added.
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