The recent violent panga attacks at Enseleni are reportedly the outcome of trouble between rival gangs of youths.
What apparently began a month ago as a fight at a concert, where a youth was stabbed to death, resulted last week in a revenge attack that saw two youths brutally stabbed.
One victim died and the other was seriously wounded.
However, the issue goes far beyond the tragic loss of lives of, apparently, one person from each of the rival factions.
The consequences, unless there is quick action to end the problem, have a far wider impact.
Already, as reported to the Zululand Observer, people in the township fear an escalation of the violence and are worried that warring factions may arbitrarily implicate their next potential victim.
This is the nature of fighting between groups, when random incidents spiral into planned attacks fuelled by a spirit of vengeance.
The original cause – which could be over a girl, a perceived insult or even a political or religious difference; and which is often linked to alcohol consumption – becomes unimportant.
All that matters, is to ‘even the score’, and this can lead to the matter spiraling out of control.
Earlier this year we witnessed such internal hostilities in the Eastern Cape, which saw people abandoning their homes in fear of arson, and sleeping outdoors.
Schools and clinics were forced to close their doors.
Enseleni residents have previously had to endure the terrible hardship of evacuating homes out of fear of being caught in the middle of marauding gangs seeking vengeance.
The police, assisted by security companies – especially those hired by the municipality – should be extra vigilant in intercepting aggressors before they can do further harm.
Random roadblocks should be held at night to confiscate weapons of violence and arrest perpetrators.
It’s also a timely opportunity for mediators to come to the fore before more young lives are lost or youths find themselves exchanging what could have been a decent future, for many years in jail.
