Cosmo City residents march against crime
Murder, abuse, rape and lack of law enforcement resources are highlighted by residents during march.
‘Rapists must be castrated,’ ‘Stop killing, abuse, rape,’, ’15 years without proper police station’.
These were the words on some of the posters residents carried as they marched through Cosmo City on August 12.
The march, organised by the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), did not have the turnout that was expected because the ANC, whose members were set to join, pulled out the night before.
Nevertheless, residents passionate about the area and some affected by crime themselves, marched from the corner of Angola Avenue and South Africa Drive, nearly 3km to the Cosmo City Police Station.
The station is a small satellite branch of Honeydew Police Station and is known in the community for being under-resourced.
A memorandum of demands was handed over to Honeydew Police Station Commander Brigadier Anesh Maharaj on behalf of the district commander Major General Max Masha.
“We are marching against crime and demanding a fully-fledged police station,” said Roger Manavhela, convener of Sanco’s Cosmo City branch.
“We need more police and vehicles. We are not happy with what is happening here.”
Deputy chair for the branch Fhatuwani Luvhengo said at a recent public meeting with the police, residents were told Cosmo City was a hotspot for violent crimes and the greatest contributor to crime in the Honeydew policing area.
“The station does not have human resources because people cannot come work at the offices, there is no space for them.”
Honeydew police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan said they were posting more vehicles and manpower to curb crime in underdeveloped areas such as Cosmo City, Zandspruit and other parts of Honeydew.
“We are trying our utmost best with resources that we have at Honeydew [Police Station] to push it through to Cosmo City to bring down the crime,” added Muthan.
In regards to funding for the Cosmo City Police Station, Muthan said it was a governmental issue and local police have little power to upgrade a police station.
In a murder case in Cosmo City, the body of Ntebeng Manzi (33) was found in her home with an open wound on her throat, her kitchen door was open and her keys were lying on the ground. Tributes poured in for Manzi on social media under the hashtag #JusticeForFlo. No arrests have been made yet.
Related Article:
