Clearly the time has come for residents to realise that the ANC-led government is failing its people, especially concerning service delivery.
From crime to corruption to potholes, the ANC led government is gone to the frying pan. This follows yet more crime reported to the Laudium Sun, with both the ANC Ward Councillor, Naeem Patel (who also sits on the local CPF Board) and ANC CPF Tshwane District Chair, Shaheen Wahab, seemingly having no clue as to their role in working with the police to bring down crime in the area. This follows an armed robbery taking place this past Monday evening (Dec 1) at around 7pm, when five Black males approached Laudium homeowner, Thible Malete, of Bengal Street, Ext 3, stealing his Huawei cellphone and garage key right in front of his house.
Thible, told the Laudium Sun, “I encountered two armed thugs while I was outside my house in the evening, at around 7pm. I had stepped out because I could not get proper cellphone reception inside, so I went to sit just in front of my garage after opening the garage door. While I was sitting there, two thugs suddenly approached me. One of them pointed a gun at me, while the other started pushing me, trying to force me back into my house. As I struggled with them, I managed to grab the hand of the man holding the gun and a physical fight broke out between us. Shortly afterwards, three more thugs joined in, making it a total of five attackers trying to overwhelm me. Throughout the struggle, I held onto the gun by the barrel, attempting to wrestle it out of the man’s hand. We pushed each other and moved about four to five meters from where the attack began. When both of us fell to the ground, I finally managed to take hold of the gun. Fortunately, the safety had been activated during the struggle, so the gun didn’t fire. While I was still fighting them off, one of the attackers kicked me in the eye and the gun fell to the ground. As I tried to recover it, my wife arrived back home from buying food and witnessed what was happening. She started hooting continuously, which alerted one of my neighbours across the street. He came out and fired warning shots, causing the attackers to flee. During the incident, they managed to steal my phone and garage keys, including the remote control for the garage door. It was clear that the thugs wanted to get me into my house so they could steal valuables from inside the house. The crime in our area is terribly high. We moved here long ago, but for the past three years, we have been constantly dealing with incidents of crime. These repeated incidents show that stronger law enforcement and better policing are urgently needed in our neighbourhood. Residents should be able to live safely without fear and the authorities, including the police, the CPF and the politicians must act decisively to prevent such violent attacks from happening again and again.”
and stronger law enforcement is needed to
protect residents.
Neighbour, Mohammed Cassim, told the Laudium Sun, “I saw my neighbour Thible being attacked and I must say, it was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever witnessed. It honestly felt like a scene straight out of a movie. Five thugs confronted him outside his house and one of them even pointed a gun at him. There was chaos, shouting and a real struggle that lasted several minutes. Watching my neighbour fight to protect himself was both frightening and astonishing. Despite the intensity of the confrontation, I am incredibly relieved that he was not seriously hurt. This incident is just a reflection of how severe the crime situation has become in our area. Bengal Street, Ext 3, has long been known as a hotspot for criminal activity, but what I saw this Monday proves that the problem is worsening. Residents like us live in constant fear, unsure if we will be targeted next. It is no longer enough to hope that crime will decrease on its own. The police and the leadership who have volunteered to serve the community, including the politicians must take responsibility and act decisively to protect the community.”
Sarie Eicker, also of Bengal Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard later about the attack on one of my neighbours and it was truly frightening. Living here in this area has become so unsafe that we cannot even walk or stand outside our homes, without constantly worrying about what could happen. We are always forced to keep an eye on our surroundings and even simple activities like stepping into our front yards is now risky. This situation is really terrible because it feels as though we are trapped inside our own homes. The freedom and peace we once enjoyed in Laudium is fast disappearing, replaced by fear and constant anxiety. Criminals have grown bolder and more aggressive as policing fails and their presence is making life extremely difficult for ordinary residents.”
