While the Laudium CPF, headed by South African Pakistani Association Chairperson, Zahid-ul-Zama and ANC Cllr Naeem Patel can ‘huff and puff,’ trying their utmost, to paint a good picture of the CPF and the ANC, the reality on the ground tells a completely different story.
Residents see the Laudium area going from bad to worse, concerning poor service delivery and crime and grime in the area. Zahid though is seemingly clueless regarding his function as head of the CPF and seems to be more focussed on posing in front of the camera, together with Cllr Patel, hoping that the community is gullible and will believe their propaganda exercise that they are actually serving in the best interest of the community. While the pair is focussed on taking photos and promoting the Pakistani and ANC group, crime unfortunately continues leaving residents remaining in fear.
This follows yet another incident of armed robbery reported to the Laudium Sun recently, by concerned residents, for stats purposes. This time cash and a Tata Indica vehicle were stolen by three armed thugs, on a Thursday evening at around 6pm, when three Black males entered a business premises on Pearl Street, ‘Yusuf Electronics Wholesalers.’ The thugs who pretended to be customers, entered the premises and accosted Humar Yusuf, who was alone on duty at the business. Two of thugs pointed guns at him and warned him to cooperate or else they would shoot him. They stole his car keys, cellphone and an undisclosed amount of cash from the business, before forcing him into his Tata vehicle. Two of the armed thugs then drove with Humar to West Park, where they dumped him into a bush, then drove off with his Tata car, while another followed them in the VW Polo they had arrived with. The Tata Indica vehicle is still missing.
Goolam Yusuf, the brother of Humar and a resident of Pearl Street, Laudium, told the Laudium Sun, “I was not in the shop at the time, as my brother Humar was on duty at our wholesaling business. What I heard from my brother is that three Black thugs came to our shop pretending to be customers and when they saw that he was alone, two of them pointed a gun at him and forced him to cooperate. They took his car keys, his cellphone and money from the shop and then they forced him to go with them. The suspects took my brother with them to West Park and during this time they also assaulted him. He was in very bad condition, as they had beaten him up. The incident happened at around 6:10pm when they took him and they only let him go later, at around 7pm in West Park, where they left him and drove away. My brother’s vehicle is still missing and his cellphone has also not been recovered. According to what we know, the other suspect was travelling in another vehicle as well and after taking my brother, they left the area and headed towards West Park. This has been a very traumatic experience for our family, as we were extremely worried about his safety during those hours. I am just grateful that my brother managed to return home safely. He took an Uber from West Park and came back home to us and we are thankful that he is alive and with the family. However, this has really been a horrible incident and our whole family is still in shock and traumatized after what has happened. We are hoping that the vehicle will be recovered and that the criminals will be caught and punished. Crime in our area is very high and we no longer feel safe, even with street security gates in place. Something needs to be done to improve safety in the community, as incidents like this are becoming too common and are affecting many families.”
Salman Farooq of Pearl Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard about the hijacking and robbery incident and it is truly disturbing and unacceptable. The level of crime in the area has become extremely worrying and it feels like every single day there are new reports of violence, including kidnappings, car hijackings, robberies and other serious offences affecting ordinary residents, who are just trying to live peacefully and carry on with their daily lives. The situation in Laudium, in my opinion, has deteriorated significantly over time and what was once considered a stable and close-knit community, now feels increasingly unsafe and vulnerable for everyone. From what I can observe, the rise in criminal activity appears to be happening more frequently and many residents no longer feel confident or secure even within their own homes or workplaces. People are constantly on edge, always looking over their shoulders and this has created a sense of fear and uncertainty in the neighbourhood. It is heart-breaking to see how quickly things have changed for the worse and how many families are now affected either directly or indirectly by these incidents of crime. In my view, the responsibility for this growing problem lies heavily with the current systems of law enforcement and security management in the area, which seem to be ineffective in preventing all this crime from taking place. There is a clear lack of visible policing and criminals appear to be taking advantage of weak monitoring and slow response times. This has resulted in an environment where offenders feel confident enough to operate without fear of immediate consequences, making residents easy targets. Many community members believe that security measures are not strong enough to deter criminal behaviour and that more proactive steps are needed to protect the public. More patrols, faster response units, improved surveillance and stronger coordination between authorities and community safety groups could make a significant difference in reducing these incidents. Without these improvements, the situation may continue to worsen, leaving residents even more exposed.”
Chantal Pillay, also of Pearl Street, told the Laudium Sun, “It is important to highlight the emotional impact that crime has on families living in the area. The constant fear of becoming a victim of crime affects mental well-being, peace of mind and the overall quality of life. People are forced to change their routines, limit their movements and live with ongoing anxiety about their safety and the safety of their loved ones. I sincerely hope that urgent attention is given to these concerns and that effective measures are implemented to restore safety and trust within the community. Residents deserve to feel secure in their own environment and immediate action by the politicians, the police and the CPF is needed to ensure that Laudium does not continue down this worrying path of rising criminal activity.”
Despite claims, the Laudium CPF did not rescue or find Humar. He was actually thrown out of his car by the thugs and came back to his family via Uber. Residents are cautioned not to be fooled by statements praising the CPF during hijackings or theft of vehicle incidents, when in fact many times, CPF members merely park off at victims’ homes and then post pictures, as if they have assisted in finding the victims.