The community of Phiri has delivered a memorandum of demands to the Moroka police station management in protest over a wave of alleged terror waged by a group of gang members identified as Amapantsula.
The latest allegation is that this gang, made up of teenagers, is reported to have killed a community member identified as Thulani Hlatshwayo last week.
Led by Tshepiso Monyake and other concerned community members, the community accused members of the Moroka Police station of ignoring their cries for help in fighting this gang violence.
They claimed that schools, parents, and the community continue to live in fear of the gang.
The community wants visible policing in and around the community, as well as school searches and other collaborative and preventative crime-fighting measures implemented as a matter of urgency.
They have since given the police station commander, Brigadier Shiburi, and his team three working days to implement some of the measures contemplated in their memorandum of demands.
“We are here as the communities of wards 11, 13, 33, and other surrounding areas serviced by the Moroka police station to deliver this memorandum. We are concerned as community members and want the police to take immediate action in creating a safer learning environment in our communities and schools through regular police patrols and monitoring.
“We demand that the police address a range of safety issues experienced by the community in the hands of this gang of terror by Amapantsula, who recruit other young people to join their gang,” said Monyake.
Lindiwe Mhlanga, a resident of Senaoane, also in Soweto, who also took part in the march, stated: “What made me join the march to the police station is the problem created by this gang called Amapantsula. This gang terrorises the community as well as other young people in some of the schools here.
“We no longer feel safe, and we have been reporting their activities to the police, but nothing is done. Now they have killed another young person and therefore have decided to march in protest over their reign of terror,” she said.
Among other demands are for the police to assign one or two police officers to some of the affected schools and crime hotspots.
Reacting to the demands, Brigadier Shiburi said the police have been working with some of the schools in curbing crime, adding that his door will always be open to hear the grievances of the community.
“We will listen to your cries and grievances. We urge those who have opened cases against the gang to come forward, and we will establish a task team to ensure that you are heard. The Amapantsula gang is not just a group of criminals; they are our children.
“We must find ways to deal with them, and we need each other to do that, and promise to work around the clock to stop them. We have in the past done some school patrols and searches in the company of some of the parents,” he added.
