‘Drug dealers burned my property’
A resident speaks out about a fire she suspects is the result of foul play.
Jacelyn Kok, a resident of the Toekomsrus community, received a disturbing phone call on 10 July, from a family member telling her that a part of her home was on fire.
She rushed home to find the back room on her property burned to ashes. Kok said she used the building to host her weekly poetry sessions. The space was known to her and local poets as JXK Poetry Corner.
Kok said she immediately alerted the Randfontein Police as she suspected the blaze was the result of foul play. She suspected she’d been targeted by drug dealers, because just two days earlier, she’d organised a march against drugs in the area. “The community of Toekomsrus visited a number of houses where drugs are known to be sold, issuing final notices and warnings for drug dealers to stop with their illegal activities,” she explained.
She suspects the fire was started by dealers in retaliation against her brazen effort to stop drug abuse in the area. She said whoever started the fire seemed to want to send her a message. “In return, I want to give whoever is responsible for the torching of my property a different message – I will not be quiet and I will not be moved from my stance,” she said.
The incident has not yet been confirmed by the Randfontein Police or the Randfontein Fire Department.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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