[WATCH] A shoutout to community safety

The days of criminals taking over the community are soon to be over with the launch of the Memeza (shout) policing alarms.

The Kagiso Police launched the Memeza household unit to the community of Tshepisong on Thursday, 18 August at the Kagiso Police station.

Memeza is a policing alarm system that, when armed, can send messages of distress to the police, family and the community when people feel threatened in their houses. A number of members of the community were given the crime-fighting unit and the names of the Memeza installers were announced.

The chairperson of the Community Policing Forum (CPF), Pastor Velemina Mutane, broke the ice with an opening prayer. She emphasised that Memeza is a community-building initiative that will encourage the community to work together. “Never take it for granted when someone shares their problem with you. Together we can fight crime,” she said.

Kagiso Police’s station commander, Brigadier Sipho Ngubane, said they launched Memeza in Tshepisong first because it is a problematic area. “Some of the problems faced there are unemployed youth, poverty and vulnerable youth and elders. Your home should be a sanctuary, so housebreaking is actually a scary crime, because it diminishes your dignity. We want to make sure that our young boys and girls can walk freely on the streets at any time of the day and Memeza will help us achieve that,” Ngubane said.

Memeza representatives, Thami Molefe and Thando Selanto demonstrated how to use the alarms to loud applause from the crowd.

“This initiative brings back the ubuntu that we always had. Neighbours should guard each others houses and as a community, we should hold hands,” Molefe said.

Warrant Officer Solomon Sibiya, the spokesperson for the Kagiso Police station also addressed the community.

“The Memeza alarm system is going to work if the community works hand-in-hand with the police,” he said.

The keynote speaker was the MEC of Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, who spoke about her support of Memeza and encouraged the rest of the community to purchase the unit for themselves.

“I support Memeza because it looks after vulnerable groups and forces the community to do the same. This policing alarm unit doesn’t replace the police – it’s a communication tool to be used when you are in danger and it encourages community intelligence,” Nkosi-Malobane said.

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