The community was left disappointed and angry following the no-show of provincial police commissioner, Semakaleng Manamela, during a peaceful march against crime and gender-based violence in the area on June 01.
A Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said Manamela did not snub the march but was pressed with other engagements.
“She would never deliberately ignore such an important gathering, because at the end of the day she is all about fighting crime and finding solutions to help end all kinds of abuse against children and women,” said Mohlala.
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Organised and hosted by the ANC Zone B, the march attracted scores of party and community members, led by the current ANC provincial treasurer, Mandla Msibi.
The march was triggered by the fact that the Pienaar-based police station ranked as one of the stations with the highest number of rape cases.
The march took place just a day after the provincial government concluded its provincial crime summit, which was held in White River on June 29 and June 30, a day before the former ANC councillor of the City of Mbombela, Mandla Mamba, was shot and killed in Barberton.
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Addressing the protest, Msibi said crime remains a major problem in society, especially against children and women.
“As men in this community we are saying, ‘not in our name’. The purpose of the march was to show support against rape, femicide, gender-based violence, kidnapping of children and the other crime that is happening in our community,” said Msibi.
He urged community members and victims to speak out when abused.
Also speaking during the march, the ANC Youth League’s branch secretary, Nombuso Nkangala, said, “From today onwards we want to walk the streets of Pienaar without fear. We need to put an end to this. There is a great need for us to teach young boys how to behave around women and how to treat them.”
