Sunnyside learners urged to work with police
“The girl was last seen by her classmates leaving school, while on their way to catch a taxi home.”
Sunnyside learners have been encouraged to work closely with the police to ensure safety at schools.
The safety engagement took place at Petra Full Gospel Church in Sunnyside where Tshwane district police commissioner Major-General Daniel Mthombeni met with the local police station’s junior commissioner from Pretoria Technical High School, Ntshovelo Chauke, last week Saturday.
Other stakeholders who attended the engagement included local ward councillors, Sanco, church leaders and the community policing forum.
READ ALSO: Sunnyside police reach out to the homeless on #MandelaDay
Mthombeni said he had noted a strong growing general agreement among the stakeholders that there were safety concerns in the community, adding that there needed to be a reduction in the volumes of high crimes in Sunnyside.
“These agreements can only be addressed through a close collaboration between the community, police and all relevant stakeholders,” he said.
Mthombeni said learners should note that police were “nothing” without the assistance of learners.
To this end, Sunnyside police spokesperson Danial Mavimbela said police had started a programme titled “Adopt-a-Cop”, where learners were chosen to be junior police officers in their schools for local police stations.
READ ALSO: Soccer tournament keeps Sunnyside youth active
“When these junior police officers notice suspicious behaviour in their schools such as drug dealing or drug usage, they are encouraged to link up with their school safety team or police and share such info with them.”
Mavimbela said the school safety teams were also there to identify problems within their schools and find ways to address them.
The chairperson of the body corporate at the formerly notorious Tambotie flats (Spruitsigpark), Bongani Sarela, said measures had been put in place to bring stability at the flats and in the Sunnyside area.
The flats were infamously known to be a hub of criminal activity, prostitution and drugs.
“The robberies, scams and drug dealings at Tambotie are a thing of the past. Go to Tambotie now and you will be greeted by a completely different atmosphere,” Sarela said.
READ ALSO: MEC to keep an eye on Sunnyside and Central police stations
However, in May two teenagers were reported to have fallen to their deaths from a 17-storey building at the block of flats, after a group of youths went out to a nightclub for drinks.
One of the boys in the group met a girl and they decided to look for some privacy and went to Tambotie flats where the boy lived.
Later, an argument apparently ensued between the two, allegedly leading to the girl being thrown from the 10th floor.
It is believed the boy jumped to his death, after realising what he had done.
Mavimbela said an inquest and murder case was being investigated.
Sarela said Tambotie management was also aware of the incident.
“When the boy and girl entered the flats, they were very intoxicated,” said Sarela.
#NotInMyName secretary Themba Masango said that in April the organisation had to rescue a girl “at that dreadful hell hole called Tambotie flats”.
Masango recently addressed a string of concerns over the flats with police and the body corporate.
READ ALSO: Sunnyside showed love through clean-up
“The girl was last seen at school by her classmates leaving school, while on their way to catch a taxi home.”
He said the girl was new at the Waverley Girls School and did not have any friends.
“She spent most of her time on her own, therefore, when she disappeared most of her classmates did not know where she was.
“The girl was found at the same place where we found another little girl from Gezina last year.”
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
