Maulana Nazeem Samsodien is part of a team running 38 madrassas across the Cape Flats, catering for more than 2,000 children and offering them a safe refuge after school from the violence on the streets.
Nearly 100 people are killed in gang-related violence every month in the Western Cape, according to the latest crime statistics.
The figures, released at the end of 2025, also show that 90% of all gang-related murders in South Africa take place in the Western Cape, despite the province accounting for less than 12% of the country’s population.
Gang activity is concentrated across the Cape Flats, particularly in areas such as Manenberg, Hanover Park, Elsies River and Mitchells Plain.
Among the most worrying figures is the killing of 472 children under the age of 17 on the Cape Flats between 2020 and 2025. Of those, 157 have been confirmed as gang-related murders.
In Manenberg, widely regarded as the epicentre of gang violence on the Cape Flats, shootings have become common. Many of those killed are innocent people caught in the crossfire as rival gangs fight turf wars.
The challenge is real and the answers are never easy. Activists, religious leaders and community workers continue to struggle to keep young people away from gangs.
Madrassas have had some success in helping to turn the tide, but once classes end, many children return to an environment where gangsterism remains a constant presence.
Someone close to the reality on the ground is Maulana Nazeem Samsodien, who was raised in Manenberg after his family moved there in 1960.
Maulana Nazeem is part of Makaatib Raghmaaniyyah, a network of madrassas with 38 branches teaching more than 2,000 children across the Cape Flats, including Khayelitsha.
Masjidul Mujaahiddeen, where Maulana Nazeem serves, is located in the heartland of the Americans gang territory. Despite ongoing gang activity in Manenberg, many gangsters still send their children to madrassa. Some even check whether their children have attended, Maulana Nazeem said.