Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia and the police in Gauteng have been criticised by community leaders in Westbury, who accuse them of holding a meeting to discuss an increase in gang-related shootings without crucial stakeholders.
Cachalia’s visit comes after an increase in gang-related shootings in Westbury and Reiger Park, with two separate mass shooting incidents that claimed seven lives in a matter of two weeks.
On Monday, Eugene Dooms, a community leader in Westbury, told members of the media gathered at the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) headquarters that he and other community leaders were not informed about the stakeholder engagement meeting with affected communities..
Cachalia and the Gauteng police top brass held a meeting at the JMPD headquarters in Martindale near Westbury on Monday.
Cachalia denied claims that communities were not represented during the stakeholder engagement session.
“The communities were well-represented here today. We took their names and I indicated to them that we need to maintain constant contact. I hope that the community will build a community forum here. I know that in the past this community had great leaders who have established organisations and faith-based organisations. We are going to need those organisations to come on board,” Cachalia said.
Dooms said they were not informed about the meeting and only heard about it through the media.
“I was also taken by surprise, because as community leaders and activists, we are supposed to be informed about all of this so that we can provide our opinion and also give solutions.
“People on the ground are affected, especially Westbury and the surrounding areas,” Dooms said.
Addressing the media following his meeting with the police cluster, including National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and Gauteng provincial commissioner General Tommy Mthombeni, Cachalia urged law enforcement agencies to adopt new methods to fighting gang-related crime in the province.
Cachalia said the spate of violent crimes in Westbury and Rieger Park must be quickly reined in and averted.
“This is organised crime. It isn’t ordinary gang violence. These young people are being recruited by big businesses that have the support of lawyers, accountants. They’re working across borders. They’re bringing guns into the country. They’re bringing dangerous drugs into the country and they have elaborate business structures. We need new capabilities to tackle this kind of problem.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “Our community is not asking for another briefing or media showcase. We are demanding genuine dialogue, transparency, and urgent action.”
