Cape Town’s roads becoming “killing zones”, crime groups call for action

Crime fighters in Cape Town are joining calls for bolstered safety measures to protect people on local roads.

In a letter addressed to the Mayor of Cape Town, Western Cape Premier and Provincial Police Commissioner, dated 10 December, the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4) and other organisations like the Inspire Network and the Elsies River Safety Initiative list demands that they believe will address mounting safety concerns.

This follows the death of a 64-year-old woman, who was stabbed during a robbery attempt on Jakes Gerwel Drive last Friday.

The organisations say the killing of Karin van Aardt, a grandmother visiting the city, underscores deep failures in how known crime hotspots are managed.

“It is a damning indictment of the catastrophic failure to protect citizens on our roads. Her blood is on the hands of a system that has allowed smash-and-grab violence to escalate into a daily reign of terror,” read their statement.

They further stress that this incident was not isolated, but rather a “predictable, violent peak of an epidemic” that has been ongoing in hotspot areas for years. According to the groups, these conditions are worsened by “inadequate visible policing, poor urban planning, and a culture of reactive response over proactive prevention”.

Among their core demands is urgent funding for community-led patrols, with the coalition stating that volunteers should no longer be expected to operate without proper support.

They also call for an immediate review of road construction projects, claiming that certain sites are turning into “predictable killing zones” where traffic bottlenecks leave motorists vulnerable.

The crime fighters further urge the fast-tracking of warning signage at hotspots, alongside expanded CCTV and drone surveillance to monitor high-risk areas across the city.

“The murder of Karin van Aardt is a wake-up call that can no longer be ignored with statements of ‘condolence’ and promises of ‘investigation’. She was a visitor to our province, and we failed her utterly. Every day, we are failing our own residents.”

C4 spokesperson, Imraahn Mukkadam, says the groups expect to meet with the mentioned authorities.

“We demand a joint, urgent meeting with your offices within seven days to present a concrete, funded, and time-framed action plan addressing these demands. The time for committees and task teams is over. The time for decisive, funded action is now.”