Ward 56 residents are calling for a strong public turnout as the man accused of killing 15-year-old Alnika Mitchell returns to the Cape Town Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 10 December 2025. The community is urging supporters to gather outside Court 16 from 8am with placards, demanding no bail and justice for the teenager, who was killed by a stray bullet last week.
Organisers stated that a unified presence is essential to show solidarity with Alnika’s family and to send a clear message that gang violence will no longer be tolerated in the area.
Kensington Ward 56 councillor Cheslyn Steenberg says the community has reached the breaking point after years of violence. Alnika’s killing, he explains, has intensified calls for residents to take a visible stand against gangs operating in the neighbourhood.
“Well, as a community, we are standing up against the gang violence that has ravaged our community for a very long time,” Steenberg said, adding that Alnika was shot while sitting outside her family home. “Tomorrow, our clarion call is for the community to rise up and tell the court that we don’t want him to get bail.”
Steenberg emphasised that the court demonstration is not only about seeking justice for Alnika but also about honouring many other innocent lives claimed by gun violence across the Cape Flats. “People have to pick up the blood and brain spatter of innocent lives lost in our communities,” he said.
He urged residents to remain active beyond the court appearance, stressing that sustained pressure is needed to reclaim safety in the neighbourhood. Steenberg also announced that another community mobilisation would be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. on the corners of Luxembourg and Ventura in Maitland, aiming to show gangs that “they must leave our communities.”
“We cannot continue to live like this, being held hostage,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
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