South Africa is celebrating 20 years of democracy this year. Busi Kheswa from the Department of Community Safety said that everyone should celebrate democracy.
Kheswa said that all forms of crimes continue to bring misery in families and often undermine democracy.
“As highlighted as democracy is, bear in mind the there are other basic human rights that are as equally important. Our constitution clearly states that everyone has the right to be free from all forms of violence from either public or public resources, not to be tortured in any way,” she said.
Kheswa said that the community should report criminals.
“Criminals that we hear of every single day do not fall from the sky, they are certainly not aliens. We protect them as they are often our brothers, fathers, uncles and we hide them from authorities all in the name of who will look after us as he/she is a breadwinner.
“We glorified their lifestyle and yet we only react when we fall victims of crime,” she said.
Kheswa said “No crime is too small to report. Let us all make our country a safer place by rooting out crime in our communities by participating actively in community safety structures such as Community Safety Forums, street and ward committees, and join the patroller movement (CPF’s). Let us also work closely with the law enforcement and let us stop creating a market for crime by buying stolen goods.”
