Hazyview cops will face scrutiny of parliament
Police efficiency in Hazyview will be questioned in parliament this year, when the question whether the SAPS has enough policemen in this area will be raised. The recent attack on a couple, their baby and an older man in Kiepersol, Hazyview placed the issue under the spotlight.
HAZYVIEW – The efficiency of the local SAPS’ manpower will be questioned in parliament after a farm attack on an elderly disabled man, a baby and a couple in Kiepersol last month.
Mr Bernhard Bekker (36), Ms Monique Lange (34) and their 13-month-old son, Armand, were visiting Monique’s father, Mr Johan Lange (70), on his farm when five men overpowered them on the evening of December 27. After assaulting Bekker and Monique, they took Johan, who is wheelchair-bound, to the farmhouse’s safe where they forced him to unlock it. He was then pushed off his wheelchair and fell to the ground, where they left him after they stole four firearms and ammunition.
They also took a laptop and bank cards before fleeing in the victims’ vehicle.
“It was a very traumatic experience for the whole family,” provincial police spokesman Brig Selvy Mohlala said. Hi-Tech Security’s Mr Rudi van Niekerk confirmed the assault of the three adults but said no one was admitted to hospital. The baby, who suffers from polycystic kidney disease and Pierre Robin syndrome, did not sustain any injuries.
“A Nissan believed to be the stolen vehicle has been recovered and taken to Masoyi SAPS,” Van Niekerk said. This has yet to be confirmed by the SAPS. Mohlala added that no arrests had been made.
On December 30, Ms Sonja Boshoff, DA political head for the Mbombela and Nkomazi areas, issued a press release in reaction to Saturday’s attack. Boshoff referred to South Africa’s most-recent crime statistics, in which incidents of common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances – in Hazyview, specifically – had more than doubled in the past 10 years, from 77 incidents in 2004, to 181 in 2014.
“Moreover, robbery at residential premises has almost doubled in the past two years, from 26 incidents in 2012, to 50 in 2014,” she stated. Reference was also made to increased incidents of poaching in the Kruger National Park. More police presence in Hazyview was identified as a factor which required urgent attention and Boshoff indicated that this matter would be aired with the minister of police, Mr Nkosinathi Nhleko, in 2015.
