Gang violence casts shadow over Eldorado Park exams

As Grade 12 pupils began their preliminary exams yesterday, fear continues to grip Eldorado Park, despite a police presence deployed to monitor the area following incidents of gangsterism that spilled over into schools, where rival gangs settle their scores.

Community member Stephens Duiker said the community was feeling unsafe, particularly for the children who still have to sit with pupils with gang ties.

‘We have run out of options’

“We expected even worse with the level of shooting and gun violence that unfolded in recent weeks. We have run out of options, have protested, called on government intervention and now the community wants to beg the army to save us and our children. What breaks my heart is these are our own children,” she told The Citizen.

According to Duiker, the area has seen an increase in violence between the gangs over territory.

Sibusiso Zwane, chair of the Community Policing Forum (CPF), noted that the police were under-resourced and the community could not continue to play the blame game.

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“The police are present, but this is always the case when something happens. How sustainable is this? What we have is a lack of parenting. Many of these kids grow up in environments where they must choose a gang to join.”

“What role are the parents and the broader community playing because that is the first step. Saps can’t police every individual,” he said.

Action plan unveiled last year

Last year, Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane unveiled an action plan that included the deployment of guards to 75 schools, hand-held detectors to help with screening for weapons, CCTV camera installations and the distribution of e-panic buttons to more than 3 000 staff in 245 schools.

The department identified 245 schools considered high-risk for pupils and Zwane said the department needed to do more.

“The infrastructure of many schools is collapsing, making it easy to gain access,” said Zwane.

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“They need to look at the schools themselves –the current school safety plans are not enough and are not making much of a difference to hardened criminals who are armed. You can’t expect unarmed people to fight those with guns; this is why the criminals keep overpowering them. Of course, they will go into hiding to protect themselves.”

‘Deploy soldiers to quell gang violence’

In a separate incident in 2023, a meeting of Gauteng portfolio committees on education and community safety ended when a pupil was stabbed by an intruder at Eldorado Park Secondary School.

Hendrick Makenata, an education activist, said the government needed to deploy soldiers to quell gang violence.

He said the deployment would go a long way in extinguishing the gunfire that has become a regular occurrence in the troubled township.”