Bikers travel close to 2 000 km to thank police across the province
A group of motorcyclists visited the Malelane Police Station on Sunday afternoon to thank them for rural safety initiatives as part of the Bikers against Farm Murders 911 Ride.
MALALANE – A group of bikers roared through town on Sunday afternoon, tired after 1 500 kilometres of raising awareness for rural safety and its consequences.
They met a friendly Const Sindi Ntini at the local police station to hand over a memorandum, thanking the police for their good work in helping to prevent farm murders and rural safety initiatives, before hitting the road for the last few kilometres to their destination in Mbombela.
The Bikers against Farm Murders 911 Ride visited 24 police stations in the province between Friday and Sunday.
Even at the end of such a long journey their passion and enthusiasm still burned brightly.
Besides thanking the police for their work, they also hoped to get the community’s support in the fight against crime in rural areas and to encourage community development.
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One of the organisers, Pastor TJ Maré, stated that the scenery was spectacular and that they were welcomed everywhere they went. They drove through 30 towns, from Lydenburg and Middelburg to Piet Retief and Komatipoort, ending with a warm reception from the provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma in Mbombela.
The group gave the SAPS provincial commissioner a Bible, signed by all of the participants, to show their appreciation for his support.
Most of the officers they met couldn’t believe that they were being appreciated for the work they did and Maré said that they heard great testimonies of the police’s work.
Although the relationship between the farming community and SAPS is very good and they work together to improve rural safety, a lack of police resources is a huge problem.
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The group completed close to 1 400 kilometres and around 80 bikers were a part of the procession at one time or another.
On their Facebook page they stated that one farmer looks after 1 500 people a day and that farmers include people of all races. The death of one farmer leaves an irreplaceable gap in the community and has an impact on the country’s food security.
For more information on the group and their initiatives, visit the Bikers against Farm Murders Facebook page.
