Despite many calls from the community for the local police to increase visibility and be more pro-active in policing by setting up road blocks frequently and doing sporadic stop and search operations of pedestrians, police have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
Residents have, on numerous instances, complained about being accosted on streets or outside their homes by thugs walking past and all of a sudden producing firearms and robbing them. Complaints have also been made about thugs travelling between 3-5 persons in a car, easily entering the area and then easily leaving the area after committing armed robberies. This follows once more, a complaint of pedestrians armed with firearms carrying out an attack against a Laudium resident. The armed robbery which took place last Wednesday night (Nov 21) on Umber Street, near Olivine Avenue has left the victim traumatised and injured. Gaid Mbwana (30), was attacked and robbed just outside his rented home after returning from work just after 9pm. According to Gaid, he and his neighbour, Ahamdu Asidi (32), were walking together and it was just after the two had parted ways to go to their respective homes, that the attack took place. Gaid explained further to the Laudium Sun, “I was on the phone with my wife and as I was about to enter my place, two black guys all of a sudden approached me. One of the thugs fired a gunshot in the air, forcing me to act quickly. I panicked and then threw one of my phones that I had in my pocket over the house gate. I think these thugs got upset and they then started beating me up. The guy who shot in the air then took his gun and hit me on my head with the butt of his gun, causing me to fall down as I became dizzy because my head was bleeding. They then searched me and stole the last R200 I had for the week. They also stole the cellphone which I was using to speak to my wife and the grocery bag I had, which contained bread, eggs and yogurt I bought for my child. I am very stressed because of this robbery. We are not safe even just outside our homes, This crime is becoming a serious problem in Laudium.”
Ahamdu who had just entered his home moments before the attack, recalled the terrifying moment, ”Gaid and I had just come back from work when this robbery took place.
The moment I got inside my house, I heard the gunshot and screams and by the time I went out to check what was happening, the thugs were gone. I was shocked as I did not expect to find that Gaid was attacked as I had just left him a few minutes before. He was trembling and holding his head and telling me that he had been attacked.” In response a nearby resident, Annin Pillay (38), together with others told the Laudium Sun, “One of the ongoing problems we are facing in our area is the lack of street lighting which is contributing to the high crime. While walking near our houses we are being attacked by unknown people as we cannot even see their faces as they hide in the dark waiting for our people to walk past and then they attack. We also need more police patrols and these unknown guys who do not even live in the area should be stopped and searched by the police and be asked what they are doing in an area they do not live in, so late at night.”
