In an attempt to curb crime in the township of Gamalakhe, Mpume Mbono of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) recently started the Gamalakhe Neighbourhood Watch.
Mbono said the idea of the watch group was inspired by the crime that overwhelmed Gamalakhe in 2020.
He said due to a number of challenges, the neighbourhood watch started working two weeks ago. He said the watch has 15 volunteers. Mbono said one of the main reasons for starting the watch was because they noticed that Gamalakhe SAPS lacked resources and police officers. “It is not that Gamalakhe police are lazy, they have one van and only three officers who work during night shift.”
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“So we thought since we always see these community policing forums in white neighbourhoods like in Uvongo, we should also have a neighbourhood watch in Gamalakhe. We formed a team of 15 people, we trained them on what to do especially in a situation where you have to report to the police. As the watch, we do not catch thieves but we communicate with the SAPS, we follow the thieves, and take pictures to make sure that the police have enough evidence to arrest,” said Mbono. He added that ever since load shedding started, they have noticed that people who come from the Gamalakhe Community Healthcare Centre in the morning and those who leave for work in the early hours, are mostly victims of crime. Mbono said they have groups that patrol hot spots areas such as the park near the TB Molefe Stadium to minimise the number of people who are getting mugged. He said the main reason for the Gamalakhe Neighbourhood Watch was to build a relationship between the Gamalakhe SAPS and the residents of Gamalakhe. Mbono said although he does not know how they will sustain the watch, they will continue doing what they can to help the community. “We are community leaders after all so we will use the little we have to lead the people. We do not want to be leaders only when it is elections,” said Mbono. He added that as much as they would appreciate donations to help them operate, but they encourage those who are willing to do so, to contact them so that they can be briefed about what the watch does. Meanwhile, Gamalakhe taxi driver Zwe Hlophe said he had to volunteer in the Gamalakhe Neighbourhood Watch because he was worried about the ongoing crime in the area. He added that he was most worried about the people who have to go to work around 5am on a dark winter morning, saying that those are the people who are mostly targets.
Meanwhile, those who would like to volunteer or donate to the Gamalakhe Neighbourhood Watch can contact Cyril Mavundla on 063 143 6289, Sbu Makhanya on 082 961 0577, Simo Mtolo on 081 416 2568, Mpume Mbono 071 238 0922 or Sanele Gumede on 072 466 2168.
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