Police urged the Alexandra community to join them in prayer for divine intervention in the war against crime and for police protection.
This in an attempt to change the township’s infamous crime status – said to be akin to that of the biblical sinful towns of Sodom and Gomorrah – into a paradise of peace.
This was said at a recent prayer session with churches, police and community members at San Kopano Community Centre. The prayer, said Warrant Officer Reverend Chaka Motanyane, was part of the police’s programme, Men For Change, launched last year. The programme encourages men to be positive and responsible citizens by participating in crime prevention. Motanyane said the rate of all forms of crime, mostly perpetrated by men, was of concern to police and all well-mannered residents – and this needed to change. “We will hold prayers frequently to raise awareness about the crime scourge, to encourage the police in their duty when they know they have the backing of the community and, to encourage everyone to promote good conduct within the community,” he said.
Warrant Officer Reverend Sivuyile Maqinyana urged the community to own and drive the event as they bore the brunt of all criminal activities tarnishing the entire Gauteng Province. “The prayers should be your platform to show commitment and support of the safety of the police who are shot at daily, and sometimes killed when protecting society,” he said.
“[The police] are not your enemies but friends, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers who leave their families daily, uncertain if they will return home alive.”
Maqinyana implored the churches and residents to include the issue of police safety in their daily prayers.
