Amid spiking levels of gun violence, and a police force that residents argue is failing them, some Alexandra residents took their frustrations to the doorstep of the local police station. This time, they were not demanding action on crime; instead they were delivering a memorandum that served as a scathing indictment of the station’s leadership.

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The relationship between the community and the Alexandra SAPS has reached a tipping point, where some residents say they can no longer rely on the station under its current management.

In their memorandum, protestors demanded that the entire local police leadership must step down, with immediate effect, and called for the provincial office to take over operations. They insisted that only the SAPS provincial office could now engage with them. “Failure to do so, and we will come here to protest every Tuesday and Thursday,” the memorandum warned.

Dumisane Nkosi, a leader of the Ziyakhala Movement, said the march was driven by the rise in gun violence, a lack of service delivery, and a police station that is failing them. “We’re asking the province to take over the police station, until they fix their management.”

Also read: Police urge Alexandra residents to help curb violent crime

While the memorandum made clear the demand for a leadership overhaul, it notably omitted other pressing issues raised during the protest, chief among them, the surge in gun violence. Acting station commander Colonel Jerry Phaswana, who received the memorandum, confirmed that the recent wave of gun violence in Alexandra was not explicitly mentioned in the document.

Phaswana also pointed out that the demand for the entire leadership to step down lacked specificity. “When they talk about the whole leadership, we are talking about the station commander, the branch commander, the Visible Policing (VISPOL) commander, and other officers – they did not specify [who should step down].”

Phaswana noted that any leadership changes would require intervention from the district or provincial level. “I will forward [the memorandum] to the relevant authority, because there is nothing we can do about all of their demands. Only the district, the provincial, and the national office can do something about it.”

Ahead of the protest, the station ramped up its security presence. Heavily armed officers stood guard at the entrance, flanked by multiple police vehicles, including a Nyala armoured vehicle. Some residents said that they wished police visibility in their community matched the show of force at the station gates on the day of the protest.

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