KwaThema – The police in the Ekurhuleni East Cluster SAPS held a prayer session on Thursday at Apostolic Faith Mission in KwaThema for the safety of women.
Various churches, NGOs and community members from different walks of life attended the event.
During the event candles were lit and a moment of silence was observed in memory of those who lost their lives at the hands of their abusers.
This was in response to the recent killings of women and children that the cluster had to handle in the past few months.
The keynote speaker, SAPS Cluster Commander General Girly Mbele, spoke against the spate of brutal killings and domestic violence.
“We are encouraging the community to work hand in glove with the police and to report crime.
“We are not going to win the fight against such crimes when we are operating in isolation with the community.
“ As community members you know the perpetrators and their hiding places so speak out for them to be removed from your streets,” she said.
KwaThema spokesperson, Captain Thabo Sibuyi, says the cluster had some incidents that made headlines in the news in the past few months.
“We saw it necessary to host such a prayer meeting with the families of the deceased and the survivors of the violent crimes.
“Police came from nine stations and we also invited other stakeholders, including churches who deal with abuse on a daily basis to join in the prayer session,” he says.
During his keynote address Cluster Commander Major General Mbele encouraged community members to join the fight against the brutal killing of women and children.
“Together we can fight crime. It is not only the responsibility of the police but also the community.
“We alone cannot win the fight against crime. We need the community to work hand in glove with the police,” he says.
Tsakane police spokeswoman, Sargent Lerato Mngomezulu, says they also prayed for six men aged between 18-30 years and one female aged 20 who are substance users.
“The group pleaded for help to enable the addicts to fight their addiction by enrolling in a rehabilitation centre,” she says.
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