Overgrown field in Annlin to be cleared by transport department
Residents in Annlin, Pretoria, last week told Rekord they were living in fear as some had already fallen victim to crimes they believed were linked to the property.
The Gauteng transport department has vowed to clear an overgrown piece of land in the north of Pretoria which had reportedly become a safe harbour for criminals.
Residents in Annlin, Pretoria, last week told Rekord they were living in fear as some had already fallen victim to crimes they believed were linked to the property.
Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the property was not owned by the municipality, but by the Gauteng transport department.
Lehlohonolo Rakwena, a spokesperson for the transport department, confirmed that “the area in question was [their] property” and would be used in future to connect the R566 road.
“We can confirm that the property falls within the jurisdiction of the Department of Roads and Transport.
“The regional office will arrange for vegetation control at the said property.”
Jacqueline Roux (35), from Callista Crescent, lives right next to the said property.
Roux survived a house robbery in January this year and there was another house robbery attempt at her residence last Saturday morning at 01:00, by what she believed was the same criminal.
She said they discovered the suspect busy removing a slab of concrete from their fence to gain entrance to their property when they investigated a banging noise.
According to residents, criminals gain access to the neighbourhood through the overgrown property behind them and vanish into the vegetation once they have committed their crimes. They said the property gave criminals quick and easy access to Lavender Road, which runs to Wonderboom airport.
Roux recalled the house robbery she and her daughter fell victim to in January this year.
She said her husband was working night shift, and she was home alone with her young daughter when an armed man entered their home.
“The robber stuck a firearm in my face through the window, but I managed to press the panic button and lock myself and my daughter in the bathroom.
“He fired shots into the house and fled with some of our belongings and items,” said Roux. They were severely traumatised.
Roux said alarms don’t scare the criminals off and something drastic needed to be done about the field.
Warrant Officer Johan van Dyk, a spokesperson for the Sinoville police station, said in a separate incident, but also in the early hours of that Saturday morning and barely a block away from Roux, seven male suspects entered a residence in Saliehout Street. Three were armed and three shots were fired.
He advised residents to always call 10111 and obtain a reference number in case of an emergency.
According to the police’s statistics website and its latest indications, Akasia police made the national top 30 stations in the country with the highest latest amount of crimes in certain categories.
That of Akasia is as follows:
- robbery with aggravating circumstances (16th),
- theft not elsewhere specified (17th),
- truck-hijacking (2nd)
- non-residential robberies (24th).
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