Young heroes risk lives for mothers
Khayelitsha residents face criminals daily
THE daily struggle of life in one of the country’s most dangerous suburbs has motivated a group of youth to risk their lives in the hope of turning things around for the better.
As an additional four surveillance cameras are out of commission in Khayelitsha, bringing the total to seven defunct cameras, the group of nine youths are up at 5am each morning, helping to ensure that those going to school or work get to their transport nodes safely.
The group’s leader, Mthobeli Mjomle, said criminal activity was part of the daily lives of residents of Site C. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was the common robbing of mothers who rose in the early hours of the morning to make an honest living.
“Our mothers and sisters were not even able to take their cellphones with them any more because these drug addicts and opportunistic criminals were always robbing them. But now they thank us and say they are able to take their phones with them to work,” Mjomle said.
He said the group members ranged between 25 and 30 years old, and there were one or two 45-year-old people in the group.
“We started taking out bins and cleaning them on Tuesdays for the elderly. When we were out in the mornings, people travelling to work would often complain about getting robbed and we decided to do something about it.
“We thought we must start our own neighbourhood watch to look out for these people that go to work, school or clinics,” Mjomle said.
It emerged that seven CCTV cameras were out of order after the Cape Times asked the City to escort it to each one of the 24 cameras the City said were used in the area.
Khayelitsha was left in the dark earlier this year after it emerged that the area would not receive a single one of the 44 CCTV cameras the council said they planned to install by the end of June at a cost of R17 million.
The City had blamed ANC ward councillors for failing to prioritise cameras in the area.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said nothing had been done to fix the three cameras which had not been working for some time.
He said this related to an ongoing power issue.
“The issue affecting the three cameras is a long-term electrical power issue and we are looking for alternative power options, as it is not financially viable for Eskom to keep repairing the substation providing power and replacing stolen cables,” Smith said.
Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said the attitude displayed by the City was a “white supremacist mentality”.
“We cannot allow the City to play politics with the safety of our people. Khayelitsha has 219 mast lights in the community. If each of these lights can have a 380° camera with an infra-red
capability, that would already go a long way. The infra-red capability would assist with fires… We also need licence plate recognition cameras,” said Tyhido.
Earlier this year, the City said about 159 hi-tech CCTV cameras would be installed at transport interchanges including Khayelitsha by the end of June.
Mayco member for transport, Felicity Purchase said: “Thirteen cameras have been installed at the Nolungile Public Transport Interchange (PTI) for on-site monitoring of the facility.
“A fibre link to connect cameras to the Transport Management Centre for remote monitoring will be installed in the new financial year starting on July 1, 2019.
“We are installing a further 23 cameras on the perimeter of Nolungile PTI for urban surveillance,” said Purchase.
Mjomle said during patrols they either bought their own reflective vests, or borrowed bibs. Those who would like to join them or donate equipment could attend meetings on Wednesdays at the Injongo Primary School. Contact 064 155 1220.
Community leader Kwelekile Mwahla said they did it out of love for the community and they needed resources such as two-way radios.