Cape Flats see spike in gang violence since Mark Lifman's murder, says MEC

CAPE TOWN - Western Cape MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety Anroux Marais says the recent murder of alleged underworld gang boss Mark Lifman has caused a spike in gang violence on the Cape Flats.

Lifman was shot in a parking lot in George last month.

According to the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition, more than 150 people were shot dead in Cape Flats areas in the last three months. 

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Lifman was shot dead in an apparent hit on 3 November 2024 in George.

Marais said Lifman's murder sparked an increase in gang violence in the province.

"What I want to point out is that a current contributor to gang-related violence is the phenomenon of less prominent gangsters trying to fill the void left by the death of Mark Lifman, and the arrest of a variety of high-profile people whose cases are currently before the courts."

Marais said she would continue to work with police, anti-crime organisations and civil society to overcome gangsterism in the Western Cape.