NEWCASTLE: Osizweni residents protest against ‘gangs’ and GBV
The Osizweni community came together to make their collective voices heard.
The community of Osizweni was out in their numbers this weekend, protesting against the current scourge of violence in the area and gender-based violence.
They say this is linked to the in-fighting of ‘gangs’ in the area.
Residents marched from Section B (Ebhareni), to the Osizweni Police Station with placards bearing messages such as ‘Stop the gangsterism’, ‘Stop the violence. Stop the gangs. Our people are dying’, and ‘South African Police are failing us and Bheki Cele is silent’.
Those in attendance showed extreme frustration with the current state of crime and violence in Osizweni.
The violence in the area, the alleged, began in early August when police were able to recognise a pattern of robberies, explained Captain Sipho Nkosi, Communications Officer at Osizweni SAPS.
“This is when we figured out there was a gang operating in the area. And from their own fighting, they broke into two other groups.”
Three gangs are currently known to operate in Osizweni; Last Warning or Wrong Turn and two other breakaway gangs; Full Force and The Juveniles.
Police believe at least five gang members have been killed through the in-fighting of the different gangs in Osizweni.
For more on this story, read the Newcastle Advertiser’s upcoming edition (October 16).
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