Incessant violent crime and sexual abuse including the rape of children and the elderly irk one of Alex’s beacon of selflessness.
These crimes are reported daily to the police station which is also worried about the number of casualties particularly on weekends. According to police spokesperson Captain Stephen Malatji, the offences are shocking with most injuries and deaths reported between Friday and Sunday. “They are inflicted through gunshots from illegally acquired weapons, stabbings and occasional necklacing, stoning and burning of victims alleged to have committed untested crimes.”
The crimes, Malatjie said, are countless when combined with robberies of persons, homes and businesses. Some of them like hijacking, are committed with toy guns in the township and elsewhere resulting vehicles being recovered in the township.
The Station Commander Brigadier Lindiwe Magudulela recently attributed these crimes partly to overcrowding and inaccessible alleys she said hamper law enforcement.
Although lesser than that reported elsewhere in the province, the crime statistics are still high and worry Marjorie Manganyi, Alex’s own Mother Theresa. She is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur and philanthropist who was bestowed the Presidential Order of the Baobab for her charity work.
The work also earned her an honorary doctorate from Wits for her selfless work through Ithlokomeleng Old Age Home which she founded during the dark days of apartheid. It’s a history which, at the age of 88, she has no inkling to get tarnished by crime said to discourage others from ploughing back into the township.
“I thank and love residents of Alex whose encouragement and advice keep me going and addressing the needs of the frail some of who I taught and also the grannies who would be living in disused old cars, in the open and vulnerable to all sorts of abuse.
“Crime is the most pressing concern especially as it is committed mainly by youngsters on older people they should regard as parents in keeping with Ubuntu principles. More still, it occurs with impunity contrary to the adage, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.”
Manganyi said with worry that this seemingly has no meaning to children and the youth whose conduct she described as shocking. “They have no obedience, love and care, faithfulness and self-respect they need before extending it to others, including their own parents.
“Their conduct saddens and shocks everyone as they kill and rape the young and old without hesitation. This she said, is a talking point in the community with some opting to pray for the perpetrators. “We should all unite, join in the prayers and also talk to them as they are our grandchildren.”
She equated the crime with biblical prophecies of the end of the world said to be preceded by strife, famine and others happenings. She urged local organisations to be platforms for solidarity and, re-inculcating of values and spirit of family. “When united including with the police, crime won’t infiltrate us and Alex will return to its glorious days.”
Manganyi urged society to also equate the culture of rights with that of responsibility. “It will help to change the wrong perception of rights as an unfettered entitlement that allows the youth to do as they please regardless of the harm caused to oneself, others and society in general.”
This she said will also enable the return of discipline and reduce the risks encountered by children walking the street throughout the night, binge drinking and taking drugs in shebeens which violate their operating hours. “Laying a hand on a child at present invites the police,” she said urging for a balance between rights and responsibility.
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