Protest against crime, gangsterism
HUNDREDS of residents from Bishop Lavis and Elsies River took part in a peaceful protest against crime and gang violence yesterday morning.
This came a day after Police Minister Bheki Cele and police commissioner Khehla Sitole released the 2017/18 crime statistics, which showed more than 1000 people died in gang violence nationwide in the past financial year.
The founder of the United Public Safety Front, John Cloete, said his organisation was in full support of these communities fighting gang violence and crime, adding that the protest was a lead-up to the planned Western Cape mass shutdown on October 3.
The communities lined the streets between 5am and 10am at the intersections of Halt Road and Francie van Zyl Boulevard at Elsies River High, 35th and Owen, Balvenie and 35th, Balvenie and Valhalla, Owen and Valhalla, Viking Way and Valhalla, Epping and Halt, and the corner of Epping and 35th Avenue.
Frustrated community member Melonie Paulse said her brother was killed by gangsters on August 23. “We must stand together as the community to fight these gangsters,” she said.
The provincial secretary of the SA Federation of Trade Unions, André Adams, said communities must stand together and fight crime.
“We are against the fact that state resources are used to crush community protest rather than helping us in fighting gang violence,” said Adams.
“These communities demand more visibility of police in schools, and more resources to help police officers act faster, not to take their time to respond when they are summoned to gang violence incidents.”
They also wanted a toll-free number where they would be assisted in their language of choice.
Bishop Lavis police station commander Brigadier Christopher Jones accepted and signed the memorandum of demands issued by the community.