THE stabbing of a car guard in Beach Road on Friday night, 24 February is symptomatic of much larger social ills in the vicinity.
This is the word from Kim van den Bergh, who is at her wit’s end in trying to galvanise people to work together to resolve the ongoing issues with crime, drugs and prostitution.
As the manager of Toti Mall in Beach Road, Kim says the crime-riddled and drug-infested Beach Road has impacted on the mall’s allure to shoppers.
“People shy away from coming here, specifically because of the number of petty crimes and drug deals that take place in broad daylight but even moreso after dark. People just don’t feel safe.”
Kim has spearheaded attempts to work towards a co-ordinated approach to dealing with some of the problems, and offered to host meetings with policing roleplayers and owners and residents of the adjacent flatblocks and businesses – to no avail. Flat blocks such as Afsaal, Sweetwaters and Brigadoon, among others, are home to several hundred people. Despite this, there has been a lack of commitment to respond to what Kim says has been a months-long criminal infiltration of the area.
Toti Mall is planning to invest millions in a bid to enclose the roof parking area – a move she says is aimed at ensuring a safe environment for the mall shoppers in light of the infestation of crime locally.
Kim has empathy towards the stabbing of the illegal car guard on Friday night, a criminal act she denounced. However she says he is a big part of the problem in Beach Road. This is not the first untoward incident he has been involved in, as he allegedly has run-ins with dealers which sometimes end up in the mall. “I’ve been spat at, cursed and threatened several times by him, and by the other illegal car guards, some of whom deal in drugs. Some but not all of the illegal car guards are among those who mug pedestrians. I feel like it’s a losing battle,” said Kim.
“I don’t condone or believe in violence at all, and believe there are better ways to resolve problems. I would really like to get this issue sorted in an amicable way, with the proper authorities’ help.
Kim often feeds and tries help the car guards, as “life is not easy for anyone”.
“The guys in the road call me Mama Kim, so I cannot be that bad.”
CCTV camera footage captured the brutal stabbing of the car guard by two men at about 8.20pm on Friday night, 25 February. The ET Security monitored cameras located at Afsaal flats in Beach Road, were installed as part of an initiative started by Sapphire Coast Tourism, ET and Skytec.
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VEMA and ER24 paramedics treated the injured car guard, Siya Dlamini at about 8.45pm after he was attacked, stabbed and kicked to the ground. Paramedics found him lying on his stomach in the road, with serious injuries resulting from multiple stab wounds.
Read: Man sustains multiple stab wounds in Beach Road attack
Dlamini (27) was back at work this week and spoke to the Sun about the ordeal. He said the men from KwaMakhutha were known car thieves who had earlier that evening offered him R300 to look the other way as they intended to steal a Golf from the roadside parking outside Sweetwaters flats.
When he refused, the two men set after him with knives, pouncing on him as he crossed the road near Rogies Park.
The footage showed them kicking and stabbing at him repeatedly in an attack that lasted mere seconds before he fell to the ground. They fled on foot.
ICYMI Watch video here:
Dlamini showed the wounds he sustained to his arms, neck and back, several of which required stitches. He has been working as a car guard in the road for about 12 years and uses the income the job generates to help raise and feed his two children. He lives in KwaMakhutha with his grandmother. Dlamini said the mall’s issue was with car guards who work the area further up Beach Road.
CCPO’s George Snodey said Dlamini was involved in a similar incident a few months ago, where he had helped others to arrest a car thief who was already inside a car, trying to steal it.
“We have a dilemma here where people don’t want the illegal car guards, which is understandable as we arrest a lot of them for various crimes like theft, housebreaking, robbery and so on. However, the fact of the matter is there are some honest, good guys out there doing their job. If they are chased away and cannot earn an honest living, they are going to resort to crime. They often supply us with invaluable leads to other crimes and take us to show us where these thugs live.”
Read: Car guard thwarts would-be car thieves
Read: Burglar posing as car guard arrested
While Snodey collected money on Dlamini’s behalf, in light of the fact that he was in hospital and unable to work, Kim is adamant that the illegal car guards are part of the problem and not the solution.
Amanzimtoti SAPS confirmed that no stabbing had been reported to the station.
A request for background detail on whether there had been a marked increase in crime in the vicinity and whether Toti SAPS is employing any particular strategies in response, went unanswered at the time of going to press.
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