Community fed up with crime say they will deal with thugs themselves
Residents from the Masakona area outside Elim are threatening to take the law into their own hands in an effort to stop criminals from terrorising them.
LIMPOPO – Residents from the Masakona area outside Elim have fallen victim to a series of burglaries over the past few months and are starting to suspect that a crime syndicate is at work.
They are blaming the police for seemingly not doing enough to apprehend anyone in connection with these thefts.
A member of the local Community Policing Forum (CPF), William Rambau, said community members were fed-up with crime and wanted to get the message across: “We are tired of the anarchy caused by thugs. We are here to make a statement to the authorities that they should not even consider giving bail to the suspects who get arrested.
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“Thugs have been terrorising us for a long time, and each time they get caught and are released, they come back again.”
He said that the thugs “had graduated into serious criminals who now armed themselves with dangerous weapons” and that residents were no longer safe.
“If they are granted bail, they must know that they will not be welcome in this village. They have to go somewhere else as we cannot guarantee their safety here,” he said.
According to residents, thieves usually enter people’s yards between midnight and 03:00 in the morning. The loot then gets stashed either in a dark corner of the yard or taken with them.
One resident, who wants to remain anonymous, claimed that the gang of criminals consisted of young boys from their own communities.
The senior traditional leader, Thovhele Vho-Malinavho Masakona, urged everyone to be united in the fight against crime. “All we want is a crime-free village where one can sleep soundly with open gates, without fearing that we might get attacked by thugs. We urge all residents to notify their neighbours if they are away from home. Very soon, we will be launching a street watch to secure our village.”
He said the community had agreed that no one would be allowed to walk around in the streets from 22:00 at night without a valid reason.
The police’s spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, warned residents not to take the law into their own hands but to work with the police in apprehending criminals.
