Notorious thicket no longer a criminal hideout
Authorities had reason to believe that swindlers, including illegal foreigners, were living in the marsh and committing a streak of crimes in the past few months.
After numerous pleas from the public to Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM) to frame a plan regarding the thicket next to Samora Machel Drive, where it was believed scoundrels were lurking, security organisations started to cleared the thick bush last week.
In a joint effort, Mbombela SAPS, Bossies Community Justice, J&M Security Nelspruit, Phoenix Security, ACS Security, Nelspruit Community Policing Forum, Mbombela Environmental Management and Working on Fire (WoF) started clearing the thicket on April 28.
Authorities had reason to believe that swindlers, including illegal foreigners, were living in the marsh and committing a streak of crimes in the past few months.
WO Rodney Mathane from Mbombela police’s crime-prevention unit which drove the clean-up says numerous crimes had been reported in the area as it was being used as a hideout. “We are now tired of this.”
A number of women have allegedly been raped, attacked and robbed by criminal elements who used the bush for cover. A private snake handler, Mr Henti Scholtz, and Hi-Tech Emergency Medical Services were also on the scene in case the workers encountered any dangerous situations.
Ammunition for a .38 revolver was recovered in the vlei area. The cleaners also noted that once they started clearing the bush, the adjacent Rob Ferreira Hospital followed suit.
According to SAPS spokesman,
Capt Dawie Pretorius, only alien-plant species were removed by slashing, burning and spraying chemicals.
The clean-up followed a protest by a group of women on April 10. They all passed the thicket on a daily basis between work and home, and observed that nothing was being done about the dangerous marshlands, despite their pleas to have the thick overgrowth controlled.
According to them, three women had been raped in the previous two weeks by young men who hid in the bush and attacked them as they walked by.
A total of eight women were arrested for illegally gathering and blocking a national road. They were released from police custody with a warning. The women were due to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The outcome was not yet known at the time of going to print. However, their calls were heard and the overgrowth was taken care of by the security organisations.
WoF employee Mr Lloyd Njabulonkuna said, “We are not only firefighters, we are also fighting against crime.” His colleague Mr Zwelakhe Mlimi added, “It was very hard work, but we managed to do it. And we did it very well because we are trying to help the community.”
Read about the women’s protest here:
No charge yet against women protesting crime
