Mitchells Plain residents fear full-blown gang war after killing of gang boss

CAPE TOWN - Residents of Tafelsig, in Mitchells Plain, fear a full-blown gang war is on the precipice after alleged Americans gang leader Mogamat Sadeka Madatt was shot dead earlier this week.

Police say Madatt succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body after being shot in Kapteinsklip, Mitchells Plain, on Monday afternoon.

It is suspected that a rival gang The Fancy Boys targeted him.

Mitchells Plain residents now fear Madatt's murder will spark a gang war between The Fancy Boys and the Americans.

READ: Cape Town sees uptick in apparent gang violence

Criminologist Guy Lamb said the fears are warranted as a spiral of violence often follows a gang leader's death.

"When there's a conflict between criminal gangs, particularly gangs that use violence, competing with each other over territory, over access to resources. When you see a senior gang leader or a gang leader being murdered it tends to result in reprisal killings happening."    

Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie says specialised units have been deployed to Mitchell’s Plain and other high-crime contributing precincts on the Cape Flats for some time already.

He added that they would remain in such areas until gang violence is quelled.

"These forces are deployed to supplement local members and to monitor and act upon information about gang-related activities."

Pojie says the South African Police Service is not at liberty to reveal the deployment strategies in the areas where the specialised units have been deployed.