The African People’s Convention (APC) and community members of the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality took over the streets yesterday (September 20), demanding more police visibility in the communities to curb crimes, and the removal of incompetent police officers.
The APC’s spokesperson, Freddy Mbhandze, said crime has become rife in Bushbuckridge, and not enough is done to curb the issue.
“As a downtrodden community, we feel undermined by the work by the police force, as criminals are arrested the one day and released on bail the next. Our lives are threatened everyday by those criminals we see roaming our streets,” Mbhandze said.
He said Bushbuckridge is plagued by crimes such rape, murder, carjacking, burglaries and cash-in-transit heists.
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“We are deeply hurt by some of the incidents that took place in Violet Bank, such as the woman who was raped by her husband and his friend, and the murder of a community member. The Violet Bank community and surrounding areas feel neglected by our very own government. We expect the police force and the Department of Justice to work in our benefit, but we witness the opposite,” the spokesperson said.
A memorandum detailing their grievances and demands, such as the arrest of the two alleged rapists, the replacement of incompetent police officers and more police visibility, was handed over to the Bushbuckridge Police Station’s commissioner, Brigadier Riah Mkhabela.
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Mbhandze said the party expects positive feedback in seven days.
