Led by their community leaders and escorted by police, the large crowd of residents peacefully marched from Noncedo Pre-school, walked past Cuburne van Wyk’s home, and proceeded to the police station.
In display of solidarity, NGO staff, along with school children as well as children from several crèches joined the march to the police station.
Taegrin Morris’ mother Chantal joined the protest march to show solidarity with the van Wyk family.
The marchers handed over their memorandum of demands in which they raised concerns about poor police service, to the newly-appointed station commander, Col Sipho Mathebula.
Among others, residents are demanding a 24-hour police patrol in their township, a mobile police station, detectives to provide victims and complainants with feedback, taverns to be policed, enough police vehicles to ensure visibility, effective control measures against crime, drug dens to be raided and the stamping out of corruption in the SAPS.
They also want the municipality to install high mast lights in the informal settlements.
Mathebula, however, could not address the crowd without a loudspeaker.
According to community leader, Christopher Wilson, the community want to help the police fight crime in Ramaphosa.
“A mobile police station in Ramaphosa will be helpful so that the elderly parents don’t have to walk long distances to Reiger Park police station. We would also like to patrol our streets, and police should give us such a right.
“All we need from the government is to provide us with equipment, such as torches when we patrol, as some of the surrounding areas are very dark at night,” says Wilson.
Mathebula did promise that he will respond to the demands of the residents, saying that the police are already attending to some of the issues raised by the community of Ramaphosa.
“We have been trying to get the community to get involved in preventing crime, but the community are uncooperative. The recent murder of Cuburne could, and should have been prevented, if the community played its part.
“We have held several meetings with Ramaphosa residents and community structures to discuss the way forward in addressing crime.
“We have been trying to help the community to form proper and formal street patrollers to patrol their own streets. We cannot condone vigilantes who wake up at night and search people without proper cause.”
He stressed there are a small group of community members who are misleading the residents, and they are the biggest obstacle in the way of the SAPS’ attempt to form a structured group of patrollers who will work with the police in preventing crime in Ramaphosa.
Talking about the disappearance and killings of children, Mathebula says parents – mothers in particular – have to be more vigilant by keeping a watchful eye on their children.
“It is the parents’ responsibility to look after their children. Recently, a two-year-old child was found about a kilometre away from home. You can’t tell me that it took a two-year-old child 10 minutes to walk that distance from home. It must have taken the child much longer, so where was the mother?”
Responding to the alleged poor police service and poorly-handled investigations claims, Mathebula said his station is rated as one of the best performing police stations in the province, stating that the claims are untrue.
“We have held several meetings with the same people that are here today and asked them to assist us with relevant information and also identifying suspected criminals, but we are still not getting proper assistance. You will only see them when something like this has happened, after that they all disappear.”
The area has seen two murders of children under the age of five in less than a month.
Three-year-old Cuburne van Wyk’s partially burnt body was found at a mine dump on Saturday, August 9, following his disappearance the previous Wednesday.
Meanwhile, four-year-old Taegrin Morris died after he was dragged outside his mother’s hijacked vehicle last month.
A few months ago, the metro had to bury a 10-year-old boy who was also abducted by a stranger, and found days later hidden in the bushes along Elsburg Road. He was allegedly raped, killed and also partially burnt. – @FanieBoksburg
