The recent incidents at Enyobeni Tavern in East London, where 21 youngsters died last month, the fatal shooting of 16 young people at Emazulwini Tavern in Orlando East, Soweto, the shooting of four tavern patrons in Pietermaritzburg and the seemingly random murders of Alexandra residents by a gang are shocking, and I believe we have reached a critical level as a country.
This is not something we can just shrug off and move on from. It is clearly a sad and shocking trend; a societal problem that requires the efforts of all stakeholders, including parents, teachers, the clergy and the entire community, to forge a united front against this scourge in our communities.