Enough is enough, say Nyanga residents
DEMANDING greater police visibility in Nyanga amidst a flare-up of recent gang violence, about 60 demonstrators marched from the Nyanga Rugby Stadium to the police station yesterday morning.
Armed with posters which read “Stop the violence”, the crowd of mostly women and children gathered to hand over a memorandum, which was received by Major-General Thembisile Patekile.
Organised by the Nyanga Community Police Forum (CPF) and the ANC Women’s League, the march was in response to the murder of 83-year-old Nomalizo Khuthi and children Linathi Ngcwangu, 15, and Mbulelo Ngcwangu, 8, who were killed during recent gang violence in Nyanga.
On the purpose of the memorandum, Nyanga CPF’s Dumisani Qwebe said: “We are forcing them to come up with a plan to combat the issue of gang violence in the area. Look at this, now that we have gathered in front of the police station; they are all here, metro (police) and the police. Where are they when we need them? All spheres of the government need to step up.”
Lack of resource deployment, he added, was the reason gangs and criminals in the community were allowed to thrive.
“All police stations in the surrounding areas, including Philippi East, Manenberg and Bishop Lavis face a similar problem, but it’s especially bad here.”
Provincial chairwoman of the ANCWL, Reverend Dorothea Gopie said: “We are here because an elderly woman and children were killed. These gangsters killed Nomalizo Khuthi in her house.”
She then commented on the presence of the police, pointing at the group of children, “look how much police there is now. What can they do?”
Qwebe then addressed the crowd as he read the memorandum, which described a community beset by pain and suffering.
“We are refused our right to citizenship, safety and freedom by a group of gangsters that have caused suffering and misery to our people,” he said.
The CPF demanded better policing , outlining aspects such as the poor response times when answering emergency calls, crime scene attendance and the provision of progress reports on open cases.
Another call was made for a special operation targeting gangsterism and for police to improve their visibility as a deterrent to crime on the streets at night and over weekends.
In response, Patekile said: “We’ve already made two arrests, made possible by the team of five detectives working around the clock to find those responsible. It is not common to find gangs, but we need to work together to stem the violence. Its also the responsibility of parents to keep their children off the streets.
“Drugs and liquor also add to the problem. There are places we cannot patrol with assistance from street committees and neighbourhood watches.”
A resident, Thandi Manikivana said: “Enough is enough. Nyanga is the murder capital of SA. The police commissioner promised us he would do more. The government needs to deploy more police units to the area; we are sick and tired of the killings and crime.”