A 10ft high wall is set to be built along Cape Town’s notorious ‘Hell Run’ motorway to protect tourists from violent gangs.
The stretch of the N2 highway has gained a grim reputation in recent years, with repeated smash-and-grab attacks and ambush-style robberies leading to multiple deaths.
Among the victims was a British surgeon, with sections of the road having become so notorious that they are now known locally as ‘Hell Run’.
In response, the city’s mayor has unveiled proposals for a substantial new barrier designed to shield commuters and the hundreds of thousands of tourists who pass along the route each year.
But the plan has already ignited fierce controversy, with critics accusing officials of effectively sealing off adjacent townships and attempting to obscure Cape Town’s stark inequality and entrenched poverty rather than addressing the underlying causes of crime.
South Africa’s police minister has also cast doubt on whether the £5million project will achieve its aims.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has defended the scheme, saying the wall would replace an existing, outdated structure and be accompanied by improved lighting and pedestrian crossings.
Addressing councillors last month, he said the barrier would ‘protect motorists against the kind of violent and traumatic attack which has become far too commonplace in recent years’ and provide safety to those living along the route.
He also struck a combative tone towards opponents, saying Mr Hill-Lewis said opponents ‘can be soft on crime if they want to, and play kumbaya with criminals if they want to, but residents will take note’.
The N2 is one of Cape Town’s main arterial routes, carrying heavy commuter traffic as well as visitors arriving at the city’s international airport.
For many tourists, the drive along it offers an immediate, and often jarring, introduction to the city’s extremes of wealth and poverty, framed by views of luxury homes, sprawling informal settlements, and the looming presence of Table Mountain.
The highway runs alongside densely populated townships with tin-roofed homes, areas that experience some of South Africa’s highest levels of violent crime.
Nyanga, located near the airport, has repeatedly recorded some of the country’s highest murder rates, while neighbouring communities along the N2 corridor also feature prominently in national crime statistics.
Moorists travelling through the area have frequently been targeted.
In February, CCTV footage showed armed men wielding rifles bringing traffic to a standstill on the three-lane highway.
In another incident in December, 64-year-old Karin van Aardt was fatally stabbed at a traffic light just off the N2 shortly after leaving the airport.
And in 2023, British surgeon Kar Hao Teoh was shot dead in front of his family after taking a wrong turn off the highway into Nyanga when a strike blocked the N2.
The wall proposal comes amid broader efforts to tackle violent crime in the region, including the deployment of troops under Operation Prosper to assist police in addressing escalating gang violence in the Cape Flats area along the highway’s route.
However, opponents of the scheme have compared it to a Berlin Wall-style division between the rich and poor communities.
Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia said earlier this year: ‘The construction of a wall [or] barrier will not, in itself, directly address organised criminal activity operating beyond the immediate roadside environment, firearm-related offences, gang-related violence, or broader public order challenges affecting surrounding communities.’
The opposition Build One South Africa party has also warned that the plan risks reinforcing apartheid-era spatial divisions.
A spokesman said: ‘Symbolically, it will use infrastructure to divide communities and keep poverty out of sight.
‘For many residents, the project mirrors the thinking of apartheid spatial planning. Separate communities and shield inequality from those passing by.’
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has also expressed reservations, with local leaders calling for the project to be paused pending a full impact assessment and noting it ‘did not enjoy unanimous support’.
Provincial spokesman Akhona Jonginamba said: ‘There are deep concerns from residents, community organisations and civic structures about the project’s real intent, its social impact and its effectiveness.’
Despite the backlash, Mayor Hill-Lewis has insisted the plan enjoys strong backing.
He told councillors: ‘We are paying no attention to those posturing and grandstanding on this project, especially those urging us to pursue ‘healing’ and hand-holding with the criminals.’
