Stories that made the headlines in 2015
Rekord rounds up major stories that broke in the west of Pretoria in 2015.
As the year draws to a close, Rekord West decided to take a look at some of the major stories that shaped and changed the area this year.
The west of Pretoria was rocked by some violent crimes, faulty streetlights and traffic congestion. In-between there were residents who conquered all with love.
Earlier in the year, illegal dumping and dysfunctional streetlights left residents at their wit’s end. Several vacant spots in the west were used as illegal dump sites.
Residents blamed an increase in illegal dumping on a lack of alternatives since some legal dump sites had either closed down, reached capacity or closed for business earlier than the advertised business hours.
Defective streetlights were a major problem for residents. They said the escalation of crime had been a direct result of streetlights not working. They said their houses were broken into when the streets were dark, people were mugged and some even hijacked.
Tshwane metro started repairing streetlights after AfriForum introduced the ribbon campaign in Danville to help identify streetlights out of order.
Some lights have been fixed but in Proclamation Hill residents said lights remained dysfunctional after two years, and in some instances for a longer period.
With the streets dark, a new type crime emerged. Thieves were cutting down streetlight poles, stealing cables and selling their loot to scrap metal dealerships.
Read more here:
Streetlights remain dark after two years
Illegal dumping takes a toll on Pretoria West
In April, two men and a woman were found dead. The woman was identified as Booysens mother Marlien Erasmus. Her body was wrapped in a blanket under bushes in Danville. The other bodies were those of a Proclamation Hill man found in the bushes and a body in a Daspoort street.
Three more bodies were discovered in the area. In September the body of a naked man was found near a stream.
The second was found on the side of Frederick Street and the third near a stream on the corner of Transoranje Street and Vom Hagen Road.
Read more here:
Three bodies found in the west
Throughout the year, smash and grabs were a problem along Es’kia Mphahlele Drive. The notorious hotspot was the corner of Es’kia Mphahlele Drive and Vom Hagen Road.
Several residents had their cellphones and handbags snatched through the windows of their vehicles and jewellery grabbed from their bodies.
Rekord reported on a child that was almost snatched while travelling with his aunt. The boy was saved by two motorist who stopped to help.
Criminals had more than they had bargained for at the corner of Es’kia Mphahlele Drive and Vom Hagen Road when one tried to pull the key out of the ignition but Alta de Wet fought back hitting one of them with a gorilla bar.
Read more here:
Woman scares off robbers with gorilla-bar
It was not all doom and gloom for residents of Pretoria West.
Two couples who had been married for more than 60 years, celebrated their anniversaries and shared with readers what kept their fires burning.
Francina (87) and Petrus Meintjes (91) celebrated their 69th anniversary on 2 November with friends and family and Rina (80) and Wally de Bruyn (86) celebrated 60 years together on 22 November.
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