KWAZAKHELE RESIDENTS STAND UP AGAINST CRIME

BY SMTEMBILE MGIDI

Enough is enough — that was the sentiment of about 20 Kwazakhele residents who started the Gaika and Maronga Street Neighbourhood Watch two months ago to take back their community from criminals.

The neighbourhood watch held a march on Saturday with members wearing reflector vests and holding placards saying, “Let us stop crime and drugs” and “In our community, we can fight crime”.They marched from Gaika Street to Maronga Street, attempting to recruit new members to join their neighbourhood watch.

Organisers Mbulelo Stuurman and Phathiswa Ngumbela said there had been a drop in crime since the watch was started.

“We started this neighbourhood watch after we saw a rise in the level of crime in our community.

“We were having restless nights and we cannot walk freely in the streets,” Stuurman said.

“We are afraid to even go to the local shops close to our homes because we fear for our lives.

“The most common crime in our area is having your phone stolen.

“A person could act like they are walking past, but they are seeing their next meal with your cellphone.

“At least three times a week we would hear that cellphones were stolen or hear a person screaming, because they were being robbed,” Stuurman said.

He said criminals would boldly kick down the doors of people’s homes and steal valuable items such as TV sets.

The latest trend was the theft of brass gates, which he suspected were sold at scrapyards.Stuurman encouraged other communities to start their own neighbourhood watches in Kwazakhele and partner with them to create a safer community for themselves and their children.

He said hotspots were outside big retail stores.

“They know they stand a good chance to get money from the people who shop there.

“Since we started our neighbourhood watch, crime has gone down a bit. People can walk to retail stores freely.

“If we can do this neighbourhood watch between Gaika and Maranta streets, it can be extended.

“That is why we are mobilising people to start their own neighbourhood watches so we can work togetherNgumbela said they worked well with the police and handed criminals over when they caught them.

“It is painful that when people come back from buying groceries from Shoprite they get robbed of their valuables and their groceries.

“You can be followed if they see you making a withdrawal from an ATM and then they steal your money.

“There is also hijacking of people’s cars.We have family members who do not live in this area.

“When they visit us they can get robbed while waiting for the gate to be opened for them.

“Because of crime we are forced to lock our gates all the time.”

She said it was time that residents took their community back.