Kgothatso’s body back home soon
MUTUAL relations and trust between members of various law-enforcement agencies and the communities is critical in maintaining public safety, effective policing and ultimately changing the crime picture.
The community depends on the police to protect and serve them. In return, the police need community support and co-operation to be effective and efficient in discharging their duties.
When communication and trust deteriorate, tensions build which undermine their shared goal of creating safer communities. The need to improve the quality of policing in the province and strengthening of community involvement in the fight against crime has reached critical point.
Having noted the crime statistics presented last Friday, it is evident that the police are making strides in ensuring the decline in various crime categories. Contact crimes such as murder, sexual offences, attempted murder, assault with intention to do grievous bodily harm, common assault, common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances, decreased by 8.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020/21 financial year.
There are many notable successes recorded in the first quarter, such as the decrease in cash-in-transit heists by 10.6%, but is an increase in carjacking by almost 5%. While all cases of assault have decreased by over 9%, there were still over 75 000 cases of common assault and assault with intention to do grievous bodily harm recorded.
What is of concern is that most of these incidents are as a result of the influence of alcohol. While gender-based violence and femicide remain thorny issues, the decline in sexual offence cases is a welcome relief. However, the fact that about 9 518 people were raped in the first quarter is extremely disturbing. Gender-based violence must not be allowed to destabilise our communities.
It is worth noting that the police are doing something especially regarding the DNA backlog and rape kits. The fact that 42% of dockets for crimes committed against women and children that have been outstanding for over a year have now been finalised, and that more forensic analysts will be recruited to address the backlog, is something to write home about.
While the murder rate has increased drastically, more needs to be done, especially in the Ivory Park policing precinct which recorded the highest murders in Gauteng – with about 40 killings in the first three months.
Police Minister Bheki Celesaid: “Improving and cultivating the partnership between the police and communities is more important now than ever.” The relationship of the police to the communities should be such that it is respectful and built on trust.
It is generally accepted that the police count on the co-operation of community members to develop safety solutions to crime and assist them by providing information that may lead to the arrest of criminals.
Community policing is an effective way to build trust between the police and the community through co-operative efforts of law enforcement agencies and local leaders, non-profits and businesses. This strategy calls for law enforcement officers to be visible and get to know the members of the communities in which they operate.
The Gauteng Department of Community Safety has over the years assisted in building strong relations between the police and the members of the community through its Community Policing Forums (CPF) initiatives.
There is a need for interdependence and shared responsibility between the police and the communities in an active partnership to fight crime.
Section 205 (3) of the Constitution stipulates that it is vital that the government monitor the police service and promote good relations between the police and the community (Section 206).
It is for this reason that the Department of Community Safety strives to enhance relations between the community and the police as part of its oversight role. It is the department’s vision to ensure that CPF structures are positioned as agents of policing oversight and assist in social crime prevention at the local level.
As the Gauteng City Region, we acknowledge that we have a mammoth task ahead in ensuring that we create safer spaces for Gauteng citizens. All these can be achieved only when the relations between police and community members are enhanced continuously.
Mashaba is the acting deputy director of media relations for Gauteng Community Safety
THE family of Kgothatso Mdunana is no closer to finding out how she died but her body will be home soon.
Her mother, Nomsa Mdunana said Chinese undertakers informed the family this week that her remains should arrive in South Africa by June 3, but the date is tentative.
The 24-year-old final year engineering student allegedly fell through the window on the 13th-floor of a flat in Hangzhou, China, while visiting a “friend” on April 30. Neither the family nor Kgothatso’s roommate (Princess) in Qingdao, know the mystery friend she visited and have not been able to speak to the person since the tragedy.
Mdudana said the family received a video from Princess, who received it from the mystery friend, showing that her daughter had fallen to her death. At the time of the devastating news, the family said that Kgothatso was on the verge of graduating from Shandong University of Technology in Qingdao and that there was no way she would “throw” herself out of a window.
“We paid $21 000 ( R295 056 30) to the undertakers for her body to come home. They said we must not make funeral arrangements yet. The Chinese government is not issuing visas now but they said they will make special provisions for us so that we can go and gather Kgothatso’s spirit after the funeral,” said Mdunana.
Since news of the tragedy broke on EWN on May 7 and the family needing around R300000 to bring Kgothatso’s body home, South Africans and people from around the world rallied around the Mdunanas.
A Backabuddy campaign was started after the family spoke about their challenge on EWN and 702. The initiative raised R615000 to help the family bring their daughter’s body home.
“I am so grateful to South Africa and the world. I do not have the silver and gold to repay them but God will reward them. I hope that in the future we can all help someone who finds themselves in my situation,” said an emotional Mdudana.
Mdunana said she hopes to get answers as to what happened to her daughter when she travels to China to gather Kgothatso’ spirit.
Saturday Star has been trying since May 7 to get an update from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) about whether an investigation was launched into Kgothatso’s death by the Chinese government but to no avail. Dirco spokesperson, Lunga Ngqengelele referred the Saturday Star to the family despite the newspaper informing him that the family have not heard anything from Chinese authorities.
“The consular work we do as the government is for the families. If you have any questions ask the family. As the government we try to communicate directly with the family and not via media as we regard that as sensitive. I beg you to speak to the family. I will check with my colleagues from the consular if there has been any report. If I don’t come back to you, take it there is none,” he said.