There seems to be no end to the ongoing crime in the Laudium area, even in the gated street areas, as the local police are seemingly just not interested in fighting crime.
Even the Laudium CPF, supposed to be the voice of the community, is not performing as per their mandate and seems comfortable to be seen by many in the community as ‘glorified car guards,’ parading at public events.
This follows an armed robbery taking place in the security gated Taj Str area, which has once more raised the question as to the effectiveness of the gates and the security guards manning the gates. The robbery that occurred last Tuesday morning shortly before 9am, resulted in a businessman being attacked by four armed Black males as he was about to drive out from his house, on his way to work. The thugs who arrived in a white Polo, accosted Armaan Ebrahim and grabbed his shop stock of electronic goods worth R50,000 from his white Mahindra SUV. They then managed to race off freely, leaving through the so called security street gate.
Armaan of Taj Street, Laudium told the Laudium Sun, “I was about to go to my shop in Tembisa, with a lot of shop stock of electronic goods in my car, that I had loaded the night before. I parked my car inside the garage and thought everything was safe. In the morning, at around 8:45am, I prepared to go to work and as I was leaving my house and taking my car out of the garage, I saw a white Polo suddenly stopping in front of my driveway. Four Black males were inside the car and they made as if they were looking for a certain address. My gate was open and suddenly two of them jumped out of their car and pointed guns at me, demanding that I give them all the goods in my car. Everything happened so quickly that I did not have time to react or fight back. They forced me to stand aside, while they grabbed all the stock I had loaded the night before into my car. Then, they drove away as quickly as they had come. I was left shocked, scared and helpless. I immediately opened a case with the police, but I am not hopeful that anything positive will happen, because crime in Laudium has become so high, with many incidents happening in the past and no justice. I lost almost R50,000, which was the value of the electronic stock in my car. I feel frustrated, unsafe and fed up with living in Laudium. This is not the kind of community I want for myself or for my family. I thought that living in a gated street area we were safer, but it seems almost every day someone in the area is becoming a target and people are no longer safe in their own homes or even on the streets. I am seriously considering moving out, because it has become impossible to live here without constant fear. Delivery drivers, shop owners and residents all face similar threats every day and there seems to be no effective law enforcement or security. Living like this is exhausting and the fear never goes away. The police and the CPF have not done much to protect the community and we feel trapped in our own area.”
Rafia Khan of Taj Street told the Laudium Sun, “A lot of crime is taking place in our area and it is becoming really dangerous. Even though our street is gated, the gates are not helping at all. Criminals continue to carry out their activities openly and without any fear of anyone. Residents feel unsafe in their own homes and streets and it has become too stressful to live here. Without proper law enforcement and security, ordinary people are left to deal with crime on their own. The situation needs urgent attention, before it gets worse.”
Taj Street resident, Yakoob Carrim, told the Laudium Sun, “Crime is very serious in our area, even though it is a gated street with security guards. A lot of incidents of crime keep happening and it seems there is no way to prevent it. These criminals act openly and do not fear anyone, even attacking in broad daylight, leaving residents feeling unsafe in their own homes. Even with security measures in place, people do not feel protected. The situation is really worrying as residents continue to live under constant stress and threat.”
