CAPEXIT calls for more policing actions along Jakes Gerwel drive and highways

The Cape Independence Party (CAPEXIT) has called on local, provincial and national government, demanding urgent intervention to stop the violence on the N2, R300, Jakes Gerwel Drive, and surrounding routes leading to Cape Town International Airport.

This request follows the recent murder of 64-year-old Karin Van Aardt along the Jakes Gerwel Drive on Friday. Van Aardt, who was from Bloemfontein and travelling to Vredenburg, was fatally stabbed after robbers approached the car she and her husband were travelling in.

CAPEXIT says it has issued formal letters to the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, the National Minister of Police, and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The recent brutal murder of grandmother Karin van Aardt has shocked the nation — yet her death is only the latest in a growing pattern of violent attacks that have left Capetonians and visitors fearing for their lives.” the party added in a statement

CAPEXIT has called for an immediate, coordinated security response, including:

Saturation policing on all known hotspots.
Real-time coordination between the City’s Freeway Management System and on-the-ground operational units.
Permanent joint operations by SAPS, Metro Police, and specialised anti-robbery units.
Deployment of the SANDF over the festive season to stabilise these routes and deter organised criminal gangs.
Accountability from SAPS leadership, particularly the Provincial Commissioner.
Direct national intervention, requiring the Minister and National Commissioner of Police to exercise their constitutional authority to reinforce policing, deploy specialised units, and take operational responsibility for securing these national transport routes, given that SAPS is a national competency.

In addition to its government engagements, CAPEXIT says it has formally contacted Google Maps, requesting an urgent amendment to the platform’s routing algorithms to prevent the recommendation of Jakes Gerwel Drive.

“Cape Town residents have had enough. Tourists landing in our world-class city should not step into a warzone. The death of Karin van Aardt must be a turning point,” CAPEXIT Party Leader, Cllr Jack Miller

CAPEXIT and urged the public to remain vigilant, report all incidents, and support strong, immediate interventions to prevent further loss of life. The Party will continue pressing every sphere of government until Cape Town’s roads are safe again.