‘Enough is enough!’ Eldorado Park residents on shootings
A meeting was scheduled to take place on September 19 with residents from affected communities.
It has been just over a week now that residents, community activists, councillors and organisations of Eldorado Park started camping outside of the Eldorado Park Police Station.
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This comes after at least 13 males who are in their youth were shot in different events in Eldorado Park.
On Monday, September 12, the SAPS National Commissioner, General Sehlahle Masemola and District Commissioner General Max Masha had a meeting with residents at the Eldorado Park Police Station boardroom.
“Let’s work together to move forward. We will be physically on the ground. We will go with a plan and we will beef it up as we go along. There will be deployment tonight,” said the General.
Due to the media that was present in the meeting, the General did not want to discuss the detailed plan there but stated that he will have a meeting with community leaders later on in the week.
The community started having a sleep out at the police station that same night sharing that it is no longer safe to be at home so they feel that it is safer sleeping outside the police station.
Gazebos and camping chairs stayed outside of the police station as residents continued the sleep out in hopes that the Executive Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse would come and address them as well as other officials on a national level but unfortunately that did not happen.
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On Wednesday, September 14, the stakeholders took to the streets walking with placards and coffins to demonstrate the grave magnitude of what is happening in the community.
The very next day, residents were addressed by the MMC for Public Safety Cllr David Tembe who responded to the community’s memorandum of demands.
This response saw the deployment of Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers as well as the K-9 unit members who will all be visible throughout the community for the next three months.
Even though this response is what many asked for, residents still decided to camp outside the police station until other provincial and national authorities noticed and responded to the plea.
On the seventh day of the camp out, community leaders planned to strengthen their protest action by asking communities such as Westbury, Ennerdale, and Lenasia to join them.
A meeting was scheduled to take place on September 19 with residents from affected communities.
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