This week marks the first anniversary of the July riots that wreaked havoc in communities and businesses in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal last year. The wave of civil unrest was sparked by the imprisonment of embattled, former president Jacob Zuma. Protests against the incarceration triggered wider rioting and looting. It involved acts of violence and mass theft. The unrest erupted in KwaZulu-Natal on the evening of July 9 and spread to the province of Gauteng on the evening of 11 July.
AMIDST the chaos, communities rallied together to protect their families and homes, and multiple community protection forums were established, with round-the-clock patrollers. One such community protection forum that was formed at the height of the civil unrest is the Umbilo Warriors Community Watch. What started as group of residents, who manned barricades and roadblocks during the riots, has developed into a community association that not only undertakes regular nightly patrols but actively partakes in initiatives that contribute towards creating a better, safer and cleaner neighbourhood.
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Umbilo Warriors public relations officer, Peter Roberts, says the the association was established on the morning of July 13, after he watched the President addressing the nation regarding the looting crisis and he saw the looting of one of Umbilo’s local malls flash across the screen.
“The President was giving his speech and a clip of Queensmead Mall being looted was played, and I couldn’t have felt more ashamed. As a long-time Umbilo resident, I felt disappointed and ashamed that we had allowed this to happen, and it was then when I decided to call the community together to do something about it.”
The meeting was organised by Roberts and the current chairman of the organisation, Chris Walker.
“We had about 200 people turn up. We asked people to rally together and they did; there are a lot of people who care about this community and want to make it better. And shortly afterwards, we thought of starting the Umbilo Warriors Community Watch,” said Walker.
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Walker says that at the height of the unrest, patrollers were doing 24hr shifts to defend the Umbilo community.
“A big part of our focus is bringing the community together. We have a very diverse community here in Umbilo. There are people from all walks of life. We are hugely community focused. We try to use people in our community and provide them with opportunities. Whatever your talent is – we will put it to use. And it also provides people with an opportunity to be a part of something, something that is benefitting your own environment,” said Walker.
The organisation has been hard at work since the July riots ended, “We assist the community in all sorts of ways. We respond to house alarms, we assist people who have broken down, we will take you to a nearby garage or help you with your flat tire. In emergency medical cases, our team has a registered nurse who assists with any injuries. We have also established relationships with the police and the municipality and we bring issues such as potholes and burst pipes to the attention of the city and try to get all matters resolved as soon as possible,” said Roberts.
The organisation currently has 44 active patrollers and is always looking for more, “We are trying to bring the youth into our association as well. We are looking for future community warriors to get involved in preserving the community that will one day be in their hands,” said Walker.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Umbilo Warriors, visit their website at https://umbilo.co.za where you can also sign up to volunteer.
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