‘I’m no drunkard, Mr Steenhuisen’ – AmaPanyaza crime wardens hit back

Thirty-year-old Gift Mabuza from Ekurhuleni doesn’t even drink sociably on the weekends.

Which is why this newly appointed Crime Prevention Warden could not wrap his head around Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen labelling him and his fellow recruits as ‘drunkards’ in ‘Pep-bought uniforms’.

“What did [Gauteng premier] Panyaza Lesufi do? He took your tax money to buy ill-fitting PEP Stores uniforms for untrained cadres and pretended that they were crime wardens. What kind of person pulls a drunkard out of a shebeen, gives him a uniform and a weapon, and then unleashes them onto a community?” Steenhuisen said on the campaign trail in Soshanguve over the weekend.

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According to the Gauteng government, the crime-busting unit introduced by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi is over 4,000 wardens strong. And Mabuza is one of them.

The father of one from Ekhuruleni had a solid background in policing before he applied for the position.

“When I heard of the project, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. Growing up in the townships, crime has always been part and parcel of our lives.

“I wanted to be part of the solution in the fight against crime in the township. That’s when I applied for this job,” he told The Citizen.

I don’t even drink

He said the DA leader’s words were “unfair”.

“I think it was unfair of Mr Steenhuisen to call us drunkards. I don’t even drink. I’m no drunkard. It was also unfair to call us untrained.

“Especially since our training regiment was so hard. Personally, I found the drills the hardest. But I pushed through. I wanted to make a difference [in] my community and I wanted to secure a job that could help me provide for my four-year-old daughter,” he said.

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He added that the comments made a mockery of their fight against crime.

“We are trying to exercise authority and crack down on criminals, but then you have a respected politician like Steenhuisen undermining us. He insults our uniform that is supposed to deter criminals by the sight of it alone, just like how the Saps does. How are we supposed to be respected in the community?” he asked.

‘It was just racist’

Fellow warden Refilwe Ntenjwa (31) from Dawnpark in Boksburg said recruits trained for six months before hitting the streets.

“Drill was extremely hard. The training entailed strenuous routines and it was something we pushed ourselves through,” she said.

Ntenjwe, a mother of an 11-year-old daughter, said she was surprised that such comments would be made about the unit.

“It was just racist. We are honest people, reporting to duty, trying to make a difference in our community by working for a project we believe in. These comments are irresponsible,” she said.

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Uniform changed my life

For Thulani Ndlovu, who joined the force recently, the uniform has changed his life.

“I have always been active in my community trying to fight the issue of crime in my township of Mamelodi. Now, with this uniform, I am finally respected as someone with authority to do so,” he said.

The 45-year-old father of four (including a child he ‘adopted’) had been unemployed for months on end when the opportunity to train as a crime prevention warden came up.

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“Since crime prevention was something I was passionate about, I knew this was something I was meant to do,” he said.

“I’ve always exercised but the physical training aspect of it all was very challenging. I knew this was going to help me put food on my family’s table.

He puts himself in the line of danger everyday to provide for his children.

“My first born is in Matric this year. I wanted to provide for her and for her to not worry about certain things so that she could do well in her studies,” he said.

“This job truly changed my life and has helped our community. I think Mr Steenhuisen’s comments were unfair. Our townships are not just shebeens. This was a direct insult to our community who saw us AmaPanyaza crime wardens as beacons of hope to help fight the crime in our areas”.