Cape Town Mayor warns SANDF deployment is ‘short-term fix’ after Athlone triple murder

Chante Ho Hip

Chante Ho Hip

19 February 2026 | 7:30

Three people, including an infant, were killed following gang violence in Athlone on Tuesday.

Cape Town Mayor warns SANDF deployment is ‘short-term fix’ after Athlone triple murder

FILE: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Picture: Supplied

A nine-month-old baby was among three killed in the latest mass shooting in Athlone, Cape Town, on Tuesday night.

Police said the infant and two women, aged 25 and 26, were fatally killed at a residence in Sunbird Court in Bridgetown, while two others were injured and taken to the hospital.

Vernon Piedt, Chairperson of the Athlone Community Policing Forum, said tensions remain high in the community.

“It has been too long, and this has almost become a norm for our society, where our people get killed every day.”

While President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the SANDF to assist law enforcement in the Cape Flats, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis argued that it was a short-term fix.

“We have just seen this absolute gang warfare for the last eight to 12 months, a big escalation in violence. The police minister said they are overwhelmed; they clearly need backup to bring stability and deterrence, and I do think that [the army] will help.

“You never want soldiers to be patrolling civilian streets, but these communities have been crying out for it. But it is always going to be short-term. These soldiers will go back to their bases, they will go back to the border,  and then we have to pick up the pieces still and make sure that we can sustainably turn the tide on crime,” said Hill-Lewis.

Piedt added that the communities are sceptical about the SANDF‘s deployment.

“They are coming there for six months, and they go again. They have done nothing. I am saying let them power SAPS more, let them get more resources to SAPS, and let us work not in silos, but together.

“Government in essence has failed our community because people are working in silos,” he said.

Hill-Lewis has also called for urgent expansion of city policing powers to assist SAPS with investigating gun, gang and drug-related crimes.

He added that while city police remove 450 illegal guns off the street per year, the conviction rate is just 5%.

“The system is completely failing, and it fails at that investigation and prosecution stage.”

To listen to Hill-Lewis and Piedt in conversation with CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit, use the audio player below:

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