Attack on MEC Fritz ‘shows robbers’ brazenness’
THE NYANGA Community police forum said the brazen attack on Social Development MEC Albert Fritz and his bodyguards show that “if you ignore an area for too long, criminals reign and show how powerful they are”.
Fritz was held at gunpoint by two robbers who took his cellphone and cellphones belonging to his bodyguards and his spokesperson, Sihle Ngobese. One of the robbers cocked his gun at Fritz, but it misfired. One of his bodyguards shot one robber dead and the other one was wounded.
“It is sad and frustrating to live in a place that is labelled the most dangerous place to live in South Africa. It has been six months since the deployment of the stabilisation unit in Nyanga but still no difference, things seems worse instead,” chairperson of Nyanga CPF Martin Makasi said.
“Unlicenced shebeens play a major role in contributing to the crime rate as they remain open until the early hours of the morning and it seems police are unable to control the shebeens despite their illegal status.
“We have an over-supply of liquor and in 2104 we asked that they must not approve additional liquor stores.”
He said the Nyanga community is calling on police management to tell them in which year a second police station will be built. The chairperson of the police portfolio committee,Francois Beukman, condemned the incident.
Beukman said functional specialised units would be established and operational soon.