While the Laudium CPF Chair and staunch ANC member, Shaheen Wahab, tries to ‘thrill’ local residents on how effective the CPF is in fighting crime in the area, by posting photos of himself and his ‘shadow’ ANC Cllr Naeem Patel, crime continues and residents remain living in fear.
Many residents have told the Laudium Sun that the pair, more fondly known as ‘Chang & Mangu’ are clearly losing support, as residents are seeing through them, for merely seeking publicity through their posts and big talks, with no action. Residents say they are tired of receiving ‘self-praise’ messages without any substance, on social media from the pair, stating, ‘We are here and there and there,’ but without explaining what role they are exactly playing by being ‘there and there.’
Although, the CPF together with the local police is not informing the community about weekly crime stats or trends, the Laudium Sun has received information (for crime stats purposes) about another break-in of a business which occurred the previous Thursday. The theft which occurred in the early part of the morning, was discovered by the owner when he opened his shop as normal in the morning and then noticed the back door wide open.
Furious owner of Bestway Design Studio, on 13th Avenue in Laudium, Zaheer Ahmed, told the Laudium Sun, “The break-in happened at around 2:45am last Thursday. When I arrived at the shop in the morning, I noticed that the back door was wide open. That’s when I suspected something was wrong. I discovered that several items were missing, including cell phone accessories, five solar lights, and some clothing. I was furious—how could someone just break in like that in the middle of the night? I immediately checked the CCTV footage and saw that two black guys had entered the shop through the back door, which they forced open. They stole the items I mentioned, with an estimated total value of around R10,000. From the footage, I recognized both individuals. They are known drug users (‘nyaope’ addicts) who stay at the white house in the White Blocks area. Crime is becoming a serious problem in Laudium. I reported the incident to the Laudium SAPS, but, as usual, I don’t expect much to come of it. If this level of crime continues, many businesses in the area might have to shut down. We work hard to earn our money—how can we just let criminals take it away like this? It’s unacceptable. Immediate action must be taken by the police and the CPF to stop these crimes and protect our businesses.”
Sathiaraj Kanagaraj, another business owner on 13th Avenue, told the Laudium Sun, “The break-in at Bestway Design Studio is truly terrible. The police must act swiftly and arrest those responsible. There have been many break-ins on our street recently and it feels like these criminals are getting away with everything. The justice system seems to be favouring the criminals, while innocent people like us are left to suffer. Those who commit these crimes need to be arrested and jailed properly—not just released to do it again. Everyone in the area knows who the offenders are, yet the police are doing nothing about it. This situation is unacceptable and something needs to be done urgently by the leaders of the community to stop these crimes, as they chose to serve the public.”
13th Avenue resident, Imran Patel, told the Laudium Sun, “Criminals have completely taken over Laudium and at this point, it feels like there’s nothing we can do. It’s too late to react—things have gotten really out of control in Laudium. Every day, if it’s not a break-in at someone’s home, it’s a break-in at a business. Unfortunately, this has become our daily reality. I believe the criminals are getting away with it because there’s no real accountability by the politicians—there seems to be leniency from the police and even from the justice system. As a minority community in this country, we’re left to suffer silently. It often feels like we’re expected to live like donkeys—or worse, like slaves. Something has to change.”
The Laudium Sun has not asked ‘Changu & Mangu’ for a comment on this matter, as the pair are known to have chosen to rather respond on their egotistic and self-promoting channel, dubbed the ‘Bala & Peru’ comedian show.