Youth Day March Against Gangs in Johannesburg

Helga Buys lost her 15-year-old son, Anthony Kiets, on 24 April.

Residents of Westbury in Johannesburg used the 16 June holiday to stage a protest against gang violence. Led by civic organisation One Force, around 300 residents marched through the streets, many of them dressed in red and white, symbolising bloodshed and peace.

The protesters, including children, carried placards and sang and prayed as they made their way from Kretzschmar Park and down Hay Avenue, before returning to the park.

For Helga Buys, the march was personal. She lost her 15-year-old son, Anthony Kiets, on 24 April. “He had just started high school. He was shot next to the flat. That’s why I’m here, to call for an end to this, because teenagers continue to die,” she said.

“We’re tired of seeing our young boys dying,” said organiser Eugene Dooms of One Force. “We call on the gangsters to put down their guns, make peace, and let’s work towards a better future for our young people.”

He said a lack of employment opportunities left young people vulnerable to offers from drug lords.

“The drug lords use feeding schemes as a recruitment tool,” said Dooms. “They provide food, but we’re saying this must stop. We plead with our government to provide people with opportunities because poverty is a huge problem in our area.”

“Today, we commemorate Youth Day, such an important day. A lot of people gave up their lives for freedom, but our community is not enjoying the freedom which our stalwarts have fought for.”

He said many criminals were not successfully prosecuted.

In 2023, then Police Minister Bheki Cele held an imbizo in Westbury to combat crime and gangsterism.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told GroundUp, “We have deployed more resources to Westbury in the last six months. From January 2025 to April, 11 drug lords have been arrested, with 12 firearms seized and 40 suspects arrested for drug possession in Westbury alone,” she said.

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