Pastors from across the township gather as residents speak of fear, mounting violence, and pleas for safe holiday travel.
Peter Luhanga
- A 29-year-old woman from Section 23 says she fears being killed for speaking publicly about crime.
- Two of her friends were shot dead, one last year, and another this month.
- The neighbourhood watch says five people have been shot dead in three weeks. It has secured R10,000 to fund patrols.
She asked that her name be withheld because she fears being killed for speaking publicly, but the 29-year-old resident of Dunoon’s Section 23 said she lives in a state of constant dread. A trip to the shop means leaving her phone and purse behind and carrying only a few notes in her hand. Even then, she said, attackers often beat people who have nothing worth stealing.
Two of her friends have been shot dead, one last year, and another earlier this month. The trauma weighs her down.
“The shootings are affecting us. It feels like an everyday thing here. I’ve lost two close friends … It is a constant trauma because on Friday, 14 November, someone was shot dead at the Dunoon taxi rank,” she said.
Her account framed a mass prayer gathering at Sophakama Primary School on Saturday, 15 November, where about 40 pastors from across Dunoon met to appeal for peace in a community worn down by crime. They also prayed for safe travel for residents preparing to return to their families in the Eastern Cape over the December holidays. The event was organised by the neighbourhood watch and drew support from local taxi bosses. Police were invited to attend but did not show up.
Dunoon Neighbourhood Watch treasurer Bonginkosi Luthuli, who convened the gathering, said Milnerton police had on Monday confirmed that five people had been shot dead in Dunoon over the past three weeks.
Luthuli said the neighbourhood watch arranged the prayer meeting after several murders within one month, and pastors from churches across Dunoon and surrounding informal settlements agreed to participate.
Asked what else they were doing to try curb the violence, he said the neighbourhood watch had last month applied for funding from the provincial Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety. The application was approved and R10,000 will be provided this month to buy basic patrol equipment and to recruit more residents for night patrols.
According to the neighbourhood watch’s approved budget, the funds will cover printing, stationery, bank charges, petrol for patrol operations, airtime and data for communication, and visibility gear such as torches, safety vests, and branded jackets required for patrolling. According to the official document issued by the provincial department, the allocation directs R2,500 toward administration and R7,500 toward operational costs.
Among those who joined the gathering was Bishop Zibonele Caji of the Twelve Apostles’ Church in Christ.
Caji said crime and drug use had tightened their grip on Dunoon and that “our kids are not finishing school because of drugs”.
Caji, who has lived in Dunoon since 1999 after spending years living in the bushes in Cuku Town in Marconi Beam, said the township was comparatively calm in its early years but has changed markedly since about 2016 as overcrowding intensified.
He said congregations across Dunoon needed to find a common front.
“We need people to join hands and pray in their areas to bring peace,” said Caji.
Bishop Xolani Mathimba, who spoke on behalf of church and faith organisations in Dunoon, said the scale of violence had reached a point where pastors felt they had no option but to seek divine intervention.
Mathimba said the prayer gathering brought together churches and faith groups across the township, with about 40 pastors taking part and roughly thirty residents from nearby informal settlements joining the service.“We are praying for Dunoon to confront the crime that is troubling us, and we are praying for families who will be travelling to the Eastern Cape this December to reach home safely. We are asking God to help us,” said Mathimba