Watch chairman verbally threatened at cemetery shooting

WAYNE Nettmann, the chairman of the Mvoti Neighbourhood Watch, was verbally assaulted and threatened while investigating the source of shots being fired at the Red Hill Cemetery earlier this evening .

He said several individuals attending, what appeared to be a military or political funeral, told him to ‘bugger off’ and ‘to leave before something happens to you’. Assault rifles, bolt action rifles as well as pistols were allegedly fired at the site.

However, Nettmann refused to leave and insisted on communicating the concerns of the community to the group. Only after the conversation had begun to escalate was he allowed to speak to a senior official at the funeral.

“I explained to him the community is very concerned regarding the ongoing problem of shooting in the cemetery. There is constant fear of stray bullets. I also explained to him that the community feels let down by the authorities who, they feel, have failed to monitor and control the situation. He apologised for the incident and explained that they had received permission to fire shots,” said Nettmann.

Nettmann told the Northglen News that while the shootings were disruptive the community would be more accepting of the ceremonial traditions if they were given notice of such incidents. “If we were at least made aware of the shootings in advance then we could arrange our schedules accordingly and would not be alarmed by them, thinking that a robbery or hijacking was taking place in the area,” he said.

For years the residents have been plagued by the shootings, despite the Municipality erecting a R700 000 camera surveillance system at the cemetery to monitor illegal activity.

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