With crime still high in the Laudium/Erasmia area, residents are once more asking just what role the local police are playing in curbing crime in the area.
Questions are also being asked as to just what role the 36 wardens who have 4 vehicles in the area are playing, as they are supposed to be an additional security support for residents in Ward 61. The wardens are employed by the Gauteng Government and are part of the safety project of Premier Panyaza Lesufi (ANC), but are hardly seen patrolling in the area. Panyaza who is known more for his ‘big talks and promises’, but less action, even promised CCTV cameras to be placed in strategic places in the area by end November last year, but to this day neither he nor the local ANC branch have given an updated feedback as to why the cameras have not been installed. So whilst the police and politicians show very little interest (if any) in assisting in the fight against crime in the area, residents remain stressed with the high crime in the area and live in constant fear.
This follows yet another robbery in Laudium, during which four black armed thugs attacked a family living in a block of flats on 9th Ave, in the Laudium CBD. The robbery, which took place last Friday morning at around 11am has not only shocked the victims, but also residents living in the area, as no one imagined that a gang of armed thugs would be brazen enough to walk into a block of flats, that has a guard outside, then go into the block of flats and invade one the flats on the ground floor and then leave with their loot, which included jewellery, cash and other valuables including cellphones. Despite the gang entering and leaving the block of flats during broad daylight, neither police, the private security in the area nor residents living in the block, noticed anyone suspicious during that time. Many residents have, since the robbery at the flat at Jia Mansions, alleged that these thugs were only brazen either because they knew full well that Laudium did not have an effective police force, or they were working hand in hand with some of the police officials. Owner of the flat attacked by the thugs, Munaf Patel explained further what transpired, “I was not at home since it was daytime and I was at my shop. The robbery took place on Friday morning at around 11am and my wife was alone in the flat. The front door of the flat was slightly open, as it was hot and besides, living in this big block of flats, we both thought that it was safe from criminal attacks. After the robbery my wife called me from our neighbour’s phone and was crying and just managed to tell me that robbers had come into the flat. I immediately rushed home and she explained what had happened. I then spoke to the security guard who also explained what had happened. So I was told by the guard that four black males arrived in a black Toyota which they parked outside, in front of the flats. The security guard who sits at the entrance spotted them and when he asked if he could help them, two of the thugs aimed their guns at him, warning him not to scream or try any tricks or else they would shoot him. They took the security guard into the guard room and tied him up and then came straight to our flat. I find it strange that from all the flats these thugs came straight to our flat and in our bad luck our front door was open. The thugs were ruthless and they pointed their guns to my wife, who was alone and defenceless.
Friday morning (Feb 21).
since the robbery.
They also warned her not to scream and demanded that she hand over all the cash and jewellery in the flat and not to waste time. They warned her not to waste time and threatened to shoot her if she did not hand over the valuables. It seems like they were sure that we had some cash and jewellery at home and that is why they kept on telling her to just quickly hand it over. My wife said that she really believed that the thugs were going to kill her and was terrified, so she pleaded with them not to hurt her and immediately brought out the cash we kept at home and all her jewellery. These thugs then grabbed four of our cellphones and left within minutes.
They jumped into the Toyota parked outside with a driver waiting for them and the car sped off. It is now three days since the robbery but my wife is still so frightened. She has hardly eaten and this robbery has totally shocked us. We never imagined that we would be robbed living in this block of flats, as there are always people hanging around here. The crime in Laudium particularly, is the worst and it doesn’t matter if the area is gated or not as these thugs know how to get into our homes and businesses. The police are hiding from us what the actual crime situation is in Laudium, because we only read about some of the crimes in the Laudium Sun, otherwise we would not know anything about the crime situation in Laudium.”
The security guard at Jia Mansions who was on duty at the time of the robbery, Promise Mkhonto, told the Laudium Sun, “It was really a bad day for me and for the resident of the flat that got attacked. I was just standing near the guard house when, out of the blue I saw four black men approaching me. I didn’t think much of it because normally people pass by the flat looking decent, and based on the way they were dressed, they looked okay. As they approached closer, I asked them if I could assist them and that is when two of these thugs quickly pulled out their guns and warned me to keep silent and then tied me up. They didn’t ask anything about the flat and just ran to the flat which they robbed.”
Mkhonto, was tied up by the thugs.
Babu Patel who runs a small grocery shop opposite Jia Mansions told the Laudium Sun, “I was inside my shop when I saw four black guys go into the block of flats, I thought that they were officials from the City of Tshwane, as they were dressed neatly, but later I found out that they were armed robbers. It’s not right what’s happening in our community, with crime just going up and up and the police remaining quiet. We, as residents, are not warned by the police about the crime that is happening in our area. We only hear about crime from the police when thieves are caught or shot, otherwise the police do not say anything. Even when the thieves are arrested, we are not told about them being released within a few days. The police only give us one side of the story on crime. I just hope that we get police who are interested in fighting crime and not involved in corruption. This high crime must stop.”
opposite Jia Mansions said he saw the four
thugs but thought they were Council officials, as they were well dressed.
When asked about the wardens, Laudium CPF chairperson, Shaheen Wahab said, “We have a handful out of about 36 of these wardens posted in the Laudium/Erasmia area, who have shown dedication. The others, the less said about them the better. The wardens in Ward 61 are divided into two groups for Laudium and Erasmia respectively. Each group has a dedicated car, a BMW, and a bakkie. The problem is that our local police do not support these wardens, so many times some of them are just sitting around. I have raised the issue about utilising the wardens more effectively, but nothing has materialised thus far.”