Fed-up Soshanguve residents call for better policing

Residents of Soshanguve in the north of Pretoria are sick and tired of the increasing crime in the area and called for more police intervention.

The residents marched from Giant Stadium to hand in their memorandum against crime, highlighting community concerns and urging immediate action to intensify safety and security.

The community’s demands include:

– professionalising of the policing profession
– 24-hour visible policing within a radius of 5km
– reskilling and reconfiguration of CPF
– a special task team to deal with all cold cases with priority given to murder cases.

Residents are now living in fear after a series of murders occurred in the area in the past few months.

Resident Makwane Thatelo said no one is safe in Soshanugve.

“As a driver, I always fear for these kids that I work with because now they are exposed to these criminals.

These people are heartless, they can take this car and end up taking the lives of these children. It’s scary,” said Thatelo.

Another resident, Siyanda Mncwabe, said the community must form a CPF and work together with the police to combat crime and help catch criminals.

“Let’s not hide criminals, if you know someone who does wrong things, don’t be afraid to report them because you will be saving many innocent lives.

I now live in fear, can’t enjoy myself on the streets because I’m afraid to be the next victim,” said Mncwabe.

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Momelezi Mrola said the suspects who killed the five-year-old shouldn’t get bail.

“We must try to build trust with police and them [suspects] not getting bail is the first foundation of gaining trust,” said Mrola.

The community woke up to devastating news after Peter Mashata was shot dead in Soshanguve Block GG on April 21 while returning from a gig in Soshanguve.

Recently, five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane’s life was tragically ended in Soshanguve UU on May 10 during a violent hijacking of his father’s bakkie.

After the recent killing of Ditebogo, the police ministry deployed a stabilisation team to flush out criminality in Soshanguve, Rietgat, Loate and Mabopane after the areas were recently heavily impacted by violent crime.

Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, revealed that a team of crime intelligence, detectives, Flying Squad, K9, rapid response teams, private security, CPFs, tactical response team (TRT), national intervention unit (NIU) and public order policing (POP) would be involved in the effort.

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Cele said drone units of the police would also help to combat crime from the air.

Police have since arrested four suspects regarding the killing of young Ditebogo and a manhunt for more is underway.

Family spokesperson Gift Makoti said Ditebogo’s death has left a huge gap in the family.

“The family is still mourning, they are not doing great but we are receiving all the counselling we need from various departments and we now depend on the police investigation to make sure that those who killed Ditebogo go to jail.

These criminals must be locked up for a long time so that no other child can have their lives lost at the hands of these criminals,” said Makoti.

Ditebogo was laid to rest last Friday.

Deputy police minister Cassel Mathale recently addressed Jukulyn residents on the growing scourge of cybercrime and street robberies in the area.

Mathale met the residents in the Block X community hall on April 5 accompanied by senior police officials as part of a ministerial community imbizo.

The imbizo was attended by several government authorities and aimed to help residents find lasting solutions to crime in the area.

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