‘It’s pointless to go into gun battles with vuvuzelas’

Residents in Jukulyn, Soshanguve, are increasingly tired of living in fear and danger due to the rise in crime which has continued to hinder service delivery, as councillors and officials have to ask for a police escort to deliver services to communities.

They are asking government to deploy soldiers or find another way of dealing with the soaring crime levels after the fatal shooting of four people, including 14-year-old Vuyolethu Ziwele and her police officer uncle on Monday in Block P, Jukulyn, a notorious area in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.

Two suspects arrested on Tuesday

Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the fatal shooting.

The suspects, aged 30 and 33, are expected to appear in court today on charges of murder.

The shooting happened in the early hours of Monday, when three gunmen with heavy-calibre weapons jumped out of two cars, according to eyewitnesses and police officers, who noted that 19 9mm cartridges and 80 rifle cartridges were found at the scene.

ALSO READ: Four people including teen shot dead in Soshanguve

Not the first incident

A resident, Thabiso Kgomo, said this was not the first incident.

In September, three people were killed during a drive-by shooting in the same area close to a tuck shop while in October, several people were also shot at and injured in a tavern.

“Those are just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t know how many people were stabbed just in December.

“My neighbour was stabbed while getting robbed and went to the hospital for weeks,” he said. “And nothing was said or done about it.

“We are not even sure about reporting cases any more because either the police are scared of these people, or they are just working with them, because it’s the same people terrorising the entire township.”

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People know these culprits

Another resident, Ntsako Maluleke, said: “Most people know these culprits because it’s either their neighbours or their own children.

“We joke about it on social media and call them people’s struggling boyfriends because we know them.

“But we are all scared to even call them out. It’s just so sad that the same people you hang out with during the day creep up on you to kill you at night. That’s our reality. “We need the government to do something quickly. We cannot live in fear like this.

“All our lives are in danger as we speak. We are all at risk of losing our lives, because who knows what tomorrow holds for us if a 14 year old can be killed just like that at her own home on New Year’s Day worst of all.”

She has also tried to form community policing forums multiple times. “No one wants to be a part of them any more because you’re basically risking your own life, going into a gun battle with a vuvuzela. It’s pointless.”

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