Despite calls over the years by residents of Laudium Ext 3, to close off the open areas leading into Itireleng and even Atteridgeville due to the high crime, the ANC’s Cllr Naeem Patel and CPF’s Shaheen Wahab, are yet to assist the community in this regard.
Residents have asked that only one formal entry be allowed from Itireleng, to allow those wanting to visit the Laudium Hospital, but that all other exits or entries into the area be closed, as criminals are using these open routes leading into the bush to attack residents.
This follows yet another theft in Laudium Ext 3, this time at a flat on Kathmandu Str. The theft which occurred last Friday evening saw a Black male jump over the fence of the property and enter the yard, with the thief stealing clothes and some electronic items through the window of the flat of tenant, Sello Moroana.
Sello Moroana’s flat, on Kathmandu Str, Laudium.
Sello told the Laudium Sun, “The theft happened at around 6pm. I was standing outside on the street as it was not yet dark, not far from my flat, when my neighbour called me immediately after seeing a Black guy jumping over my fence and stealing something through my flat window. Without wasting any time, I ran back home and found that the thief had already run away after seeing me coming. When I went inside, I discovered that he had managed to steal some clothes and a few electronic items that were near the window, before fleeing. It’s really scary. We can’t leave our homes for even a minute without hearing about another break-in or theft. This place is becoming more dangerous by the day. I believe most of these criminals are coming from the nearby Itireleng squatter camp and it’s very frustrating. We can’t live a decent or free life anymore. It feels like criminals have taken over everything and are controlling our lives. Crime in Laudium, especially on our street, is out of control. Almost every day, we hear about new incidents of crime. Living in Laudium now feels like we need our own security guards all the time. We’re just ordinary middle class people trying to survive and we can’t afford private security. The police and other security patrollers must intervene and patrol our area more often and take strict action so that these criminals are caught and taught a serious lesson. Unfortunately we hardly, if ever, see any of these crime combatting patrollers on our streets.”
unfortunately, residents hardly ever see crime combatting patrollers on the streets.
Maruuan Gawlh of Kathmandu Street, Laudium Ext 3, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard about the theft incident on our street and it’s really terrible. Every single day, crime on Kathmandu Street seems to be increasing, while the police seem to be doing nothing about it. That is why many residents are not even reporting crime, because the police do not seem to be interested in protecting the community. I even fear stepping outside my house because of the ongoing crime on our street and throughout Laudium. The crime situation has gotten completely out of hand and our leaders do not also seem to be interested in taking action. As a community, we must stand together against crime and show these criminals that we are not afraid of them.”
Esrom Letlhatlha, also of Kathmandu Street, told the Laudium Sun, “If people say that crime is going down in our area, they’re either lying or they don’t live here. We don’t want people sitting comfortably in their nice security estates telling us about crime in Laudium. We live it every day and know exactly what’s happening. Crime and criminals are destroying our lives and we live in constant fear. It’s really tough to survive here. Honestly, there’s no difference between living in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and living in Laudium. In fact, I think Hillbrow might even be better when it comes to the high crime. Drugs are being sold openly in our streets and house break ins are happening so often, right under the noses of the police. It’s truly frightening to live here.”
criminals are destroying lives in Laudium and residents live in constant fear.
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