Fed up with crime and drugs sold on the streets, residents rallied down Beyers Naudé Drive in a peaceful march and handed over memorandums to the Honeydew Police on 19 September.
“This is a march to stop crime. We are ready to reclaim our streets, and we say no to nyaope,” said Kenneth Lekalakala, chairperson for the Zandspruit Community Patrollers.
Lekalakala said they are calling for police to tackle crime when alerted by residents and added that house break-ins, theft and robbery are too high in their area.
“These people wait for responsible residents to leave houses to work so they can break into their houses and steal. At times, they break into houses at night when owners are asleep,” said Lekalakala.
He said the availability of nyaope in the streets of Zandspruit is a major problem.
“Our children find it easy to access drugs, that is why we are asking the police to help save our children from drugs,” he said.
The march was organised by the ANC Zone 14 and it included other political parties from different community structures of Zandspruit, Cosmo City and Radiokop.
When presenting their memorandum at the station, the party’s Zone 14 chairperson Jack Molepo said, “Combating crime is a responsibility for all of us.”
“We are here today because we are worried about the state of our country. Crime rules! We need government, the justice system, law enforcers, and the community to work together to fight criminals. Nyaope is destroying our children, it needs to be stopped,” he said.
The memorandum was handed over to the Honeydew Police acting Station Commander Colonel Tobie Terblanche[www.saps.gov.za/] accompanied by Chief-Superintendent Irene Mbele of JMPD.
Acknowledging the memorandum, Col Terblanch said, “Our mission is to fight crime and we are happy knowing that the community is ready to work with us.”
Col Terblanche admitted that crime is a problem in the area but said police and the community can’t work in isolation.
He asked the community to alert the police about any crime activity taking place in their neighbourhoods.
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