Three Social Development employees targeted in Khayelitsha in one week. In the latest incident, a DSD official was shot at during an attempted hijacking while travelling in a government vehicle. She escaped, but the bullet reportedly struck the vehicle’s gear lever.
This is not ordinary vehicle crime. Social workers and other DSD officials enter vulnerable communities every day to assist children, families and people in crisis. If criminals drive them out of these areas, the people who suffer most will be those who already have the least protection.
There have reportedly already been 22 hijackings or attempted hijackings involving Western Cape DSD staff this financial year, compared with 17 during the whole of the previous year.
I support the new Western Cape Social Development MEC, Wendy Kaizer-Philander, in treating this matter with the urgency it deserves and strengthening measures to protect officials working in high-risk areas.
I have reached out to senior SAPS management about the latest case and the broader pattern. These attacks must be analysed together, available CCTV and ballistic evidence must be secured, and targeted policing must follow where repeat hotspots are identified.
Protecting social workers also protects the vulnerable communities they serve.