Cosmo City identified as a crime Zone
Cosmo City residents marched against the increase in crimes in exchange for safety and security in the community.
The plight of crime in Cosmo City has left residents with heavy hearts and frightened following the devastating events of youth in the community being killed.
Peaceful protesters in Cosmo City marched to Cosmo City Police Station, under the banner ‘Crime must fall!!!’.
The march on June 24, was to fight against crime in the community and the demand for a fully-fledged police station.
Cosmo City currently has a small satellite police station linked to Honeydew Police Station, and community members have in the past complained it was insufficient to meet the needs in the area.
Following the reporting of multiple murder cases without any successful arrests, this came to light.
In the march, residents demand that the MMC of Public Safety David Tembe and Minister of Police General Bheki Cele visit Cosmo City with the aim to curb crime in the community.
“We demand the state (SAPS) to listen to our plea as the Cosmo City residents. We are facing crime every day with the hope that someday this issue will be history, although crime keeps on increasing and the law is nowhere to be found,” said community organiser John Metlhape.
“This issue is now taking its toll on the residents as they live in fear and we are scared that we might be the next victim if we don’t stand up and fight against this act,” he added.
A young man, who would not give his name, mentioned that they have been defeated against ongoing crime in the community and the police are not doing anything to stop criminals.
He said, “Every week in Cosmo City a youth member dies because of crime. The law is not doing enough to protect its people against this inhuman act.”
Lieutenant Colonel Marius Hefer, who accepted the memorandum, remarked that they have heard the resident’s plea and will assist the community to end crime. “We have taken note of the content of the memorandum and the verbal pleadings from the community and what is going to happen is that the memorandum will be handed over to the station commander at Honeydew Police Station who will then escalate it through the channels to the provincial office.”
He said that in the period the community will be waiting for the response from the provincial office, the Cosmo City Police Station will
re-deploy its resources and re-evaluate what the police officers in the community do to protect its residents in the fight against crime.
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