Nyaope and crime walk hand in hand
"Imagine a country ruled by crazy nyaope addicts? Let us safeguard our youth as they are the leaders of tomorrow. Without the youth, we can expect a fruitless future."
The desperate plea of a victim of crime, who says that he was robbed by a mob of drug addicts.
The streets of Middelburg and Mhluzi are no longer safe. Something the most recent victim, a resident from Mhluzi, can testify to.
Amos Tebeila told the Middelburg Observer about his terrifying ordeal. Whilst walking home one night, he was ambushed by a gang of nyaope boys, knives in hand.
An experience wherein he describes himself as feeling like a lamb amongst a pack of hungry wolves.
“At first I tried to fight back. But then I realised that I was going to lose my life if I did. I had no choice but to hand over my wallet,” Mr Tebeila said.
The incident has left him with a sense of urgency to convey the message.
“We have to do something now. The community must take hands to uproot this drug from our society. If we do not act now, this drug will definitely have a negative impact on our already limping economy.”
•A mere 20 kilometres away, in Nasaret, a young woman lives not knowing where her 17 year-old brother sleeps at night. Drug addiction has turned him into an aggressive and deceitful ghost who slips in and out of her life as he pleases.
The only time she knows of his existence, is when she sees his dirty laundry on the floor or realises that her or her daughter’s belongings have been stolen whilst she was at work. Her toddler is facing winter with no warm clothes, it has all been stolen and sold for drug money by her addicted uncle, who himself is still a minor.
Community members help the woman keep track of her brother’s movements. Most of the time it is angry community members who complain that he has broken into their homes.
•The Nasaret Stadium has become a popular hangout for addicts. A messy environment, where the floor is covered by shards of glass, human faeces and the telltale silver pieces of foil dealers sell a ‘pinch’ of heroin in.
•The Middelburg CBD is no different. The once vibrant economic hub of Middelburg has turned into a danger zone, where the streets are patrolled by criminals on the lookout for their next target and more and more shops are occupied by foreign nationals. Many of the petty crimes are blamed on nyaope addicts with eyewitness accounts saying that they circle their pray like a pack of hyenas.
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“They are fearless. Nobody is doing anything about it so they get away with it. You can hear them whistle to each other to signal a target or when police are coming,” a woman who works in the CBD said.
Last Friday, a man almost lost his finger when he was bitten by a nyaope boy. The man ran to assist someone who was being robbed in SADC Street. An eyewitness told how one of the robbers bit him so hard that he nearly bit his finger off. The man is currently on antiretroviral treatment. (Read full story elsewhere.)
According to Crime Stats S.A. drug related crimes in Middelburg have soared from 45 incidents in 2008 to 206 in 2015. There were 1 186 theft out of motor vehicle cases reported and 1251 burglaries.
