Hundreds of crime victims and community leaders turn up to speak to Minister Mchunu

Community leader Willie Bosch shared frustrations regarding the Seaview Police Station, which remains closed long after renovations were completed. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

By Estelle Ellis

18 Aug 2024

On Friday, 16 August 2024, hundreds of crime victims and community leaders turned up at the Soweto-on-Sea multi-purpose centre in Gqeberha to talk to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. People queued for hours to hear Mchunu and to talk to the police delegation. Their stories were so heartbreaking that senior officials were sent outside to immediately start taking statements from community members, who shared their frustration in getting access to law enforcement.

Hundreds of crime victims lined up at the Soweto-on-Sea multipurpose centre in Gqeberha on Friday morning, 16 August 2024, to talk to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu about crime, which has become out of control in the city.

Every time officials asked if someone wanted to say something, scores of people raised their hands. Outside the packed hall, people were waiting on the stoep and street outside, milling around the building to get a chance to speak. Emotions ran high as speaker after speaker detailed how they had been failed by the police.

People told of hijackings, how they are shaken down for protection fees, and how drugs are being distributed openly without consequence in their neighbourhoods.

In one case, a community leader said old people desperate to help are going to police stations, offering to patrol the streets, but they don’t have torches to patrol at night.

“We are under siege,” Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Gary van Niekerk said.

“Kidnappings are now happening almost weekly as are the attacks on churches,” he said.

He said it is suspected that the construction mafia is also behind some of the crime in the city.

Read more: ‘A lucrative commodity’ — huge spike in kidnappings hits SA

In recent months, gun-toting robbers invaded several churches, firing shots and robbing congregants of their valuables.

“We must take the kidnappers head-on,” Van Niekerk said.

He said a few hundred South African Police Service (SAPS) officials serve about 1.7 million residents in Nelson Mandela Bay. Van Niekerk said Mchunu has promised to send more officials.

“We need all our armed forces to tackle this,” the mayor said. “Also we need intelligence services.”

At the time of writing, Van Niekerk hadn’t responded to a request for comment on whether he was calling for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to be deployed.

National Commissioner Fannie Masemola stressed that criminals are still in the minority.

“We want to eradicate this sickness,” he said. “Show us how we can improve. Bring us the names of the criminals.”

Mchunu said the police force will be strengthened in the metro and, among other appointments, senior Crime Intelligence officers brought in from “head office”.

Senzo Mchunu in Nelson Mandela Bay Police Minister Senzo Mchunu arrived at the Soweto-on-Sea multi-purpose centre in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on Friday, 17 August 2024, to hear the pleas for help from hundreds of crime victims. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

Eastern Cape SAPS Commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene said that since the minister’s visit in July they have started looking at building new police station buildings for Zwide and Despatch and will move the boundaries of police stations for communities who complain that their designated police station is too far away.

She said 25 visible police officers have been added to the metro, and they are making a plan to address the problem of police vehicles that are out of operation. She added that members of the anti-gang unit who were deployed to the Chatty Police Station have now returned to the anti-gang unit.

“I am committed to changing this situation,” she said. “There will be additional deployment of members to stabilise the situation in Nelson Mandela Bay and senior managers are being brought on board.”

She said three suspects have been arrested for the church attacks. “These are young boys from the same community,” she added.

Inaccessible police stations

Senzo Mchunu in Nelson Mandela Bay Some of the hundreds of community members who turned up at the ministerial community imbizo in Soweto-on-Sea, Gqeberha, for a chance to speak to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

Senzo Mchunu imbizo in Nelson Mandela Bay From left: Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili and Eastern Cape Commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene at the Soweto-on-Sea imbizo on Friday, 16 August 2024. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

Hundreds of crime victims and community leaders wanted to talk to Mchunu about their daily struggles in their neighbourhoods.

“You write and you write and you write but nobody ever answers you,” one woman said.

Senior police officials were sent outside the venue on Friday to talk to crime victims and see how they could be helped.

Some of those who came to talk to the minister said they wanted the police officers from KwaZulu-Natal, who made headlines for gunning down suspects in the past few weeks, to be sent to Nelson Mandela Bay.

Willie Bosch, a respected community leader in community policing networks, said the Seaview Police Station, renovated at great cost three years ago, is still empty because there are not enough staff members. Other police stations like the Rocklands Police Station remain closed.

Representatives from the metro’s northern areas, suburbs that have been beset by gang murders, said people are being gunned down every week and at least one child is killed every month, yet there is a huge shortage of detectives and police officers in the area.

Read more: In the heart of Eastern Cape’s deadly gang warfare, a job ‘opportunity centre’ builds hope

Despatch business owners complained about the protection fees they must pay.

Several crime victims said they are frustrated with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) because of the number of cases that are thrown out.

Almost all of them said access to police stations is a problem – the stations are too far away; closed because of staff shortages; or do not offer any help.

Mchunu previously visited in July, shortly after the deputy president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Kelvin Naidoo, was kidnapped for ransom. Naidoo was subsequently released, but no arrests have been made in his case.

Shortly after Naidoo’s release, another victim, Rajathi Gnanaraj was kidnapped in Old Grahamstown Road. She was released last week after a ransom was paid.

Read more: Kidnapping ‘mastermind’ refused bail in Nelson Mandela Bay

Crime interrupted

Senzo Mchunu imbizo in Nelson Mandela Bay Community leader Willie Bosch shared his frustrations about the Seaview Police Station, which remains closed long after renovations were completed. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

Communities have also been up in arms about a 73-year-old Richmond Hill resident who is being investigated by police for attempted murder after he recently gunned down two home invaders who broke into his house .

Within hours of the minister’s visit, two men were gunned down in Missionvale.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg told Daily Maverick on Saturday, 17 August, that Provincial Organised Crime Investigation detectives are on the hunt for the murder suspects.

“It is alleged that at approximately 6.30am, SAPS Algoa Park attended to a complaint of a shooting at Congo Street, Missionvale. On arrival, they noticed that the front door to the shack was kicked open, and when they went in, they found the bodies of two men, aged 30 and 32, with gunshot wounds. Preliminary investigation was done by police in the area but could not gather any more information.

“Two cases of murder are currently under investigation. The motive for the murders is unknown at this stage and forms part of the investigation,” she said.

On Friday night, the police also swooped on six suspects alleged to be involved in the hijacking of a truck in Gqeberha.

“Five suspects were taken in for questioning by crime prevention members at Motherwell SAPS, and members from Tactical Response Team and local detectives intervened and investigated further. Upon investigation police discovered that these suspects were involved in truck jacking and are keeping the stolen property in a storeroom.

“Police proceeded to the alleged storeroom, and they found out that the place is a shop with an interlinking door to the storeroom. On searching, they recovered groceries and new Isuzu car parts. A foreign national was arrested for possession of suspected stolen property. Police further proceeded to Zwide, where they recovered a white VW Golf that was stolen in KwaZakhele in 2023.

“The six suspects aged between 24 and 42 years were charged for truck jacking, and the shop owner was also charged for possession of stolen property. They are appearing before the Motherwell magistrates’ court on Monday,” Janse van Rensburg said.

Mene applauded the intelligence gathered by police that led to the arrests.

“We will ensure the prosecution of the suspects and justice will prevail,” she said.

Janse van Rensburg said the police also conducted a multi-disciplinary operation in central Gqeberha on Saturday, resulting in the confiscation of drugs, counterfeit goods and expired goods.

During the operation, they executed search warrants in Parliament Street, (a notorious district for drug dealing in Gqeberha) and arrested two suspects for possession of drugs and illegal immigration after police found three packets of cocaine, tik, 350 Boss tablets, 400 Mandrax tablets and two packets of unknown drugs.

Police also searched a flat in Parliament Street and confiscated drugs and cash worth more than R1-million. The haul included dagga, syringes and thousands of packets of drugs such as Mandrax, Cat, cocaine and tik.

The Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner Major General Vuyisile Ncata said the operations emphasised law enforcement’s commitment to combating illegal activities that threaten the safety and well-being of communities.

“The seizure of counterfeit goods and removal of drugs from our streets contributes to the overall reduction of crime in our policing precincts. We remain steadfast in our mission to uphold the law and keep our communities safe,” Ncata said.

Urgency required

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has offered its assistance to the police.

“There has been a lot of focus and energy around the country with the various stakeholders working together to address the electricity and logistical challenges, and in this regard it has been pleasing to see that progress is being made in these key areas.

“However, it is clear that the safety and security situation is now the most pressing issue and is out of control, affecting all communities and stakeholders across the country,” Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen said.

“Absolute urgency and focus now needs to be deployed by the various stakeholders at national, provincial and local levels to address the very serious safety and security crisis in the country. The unacceptable high poverty and unemployment levels are no doubt key factors influencing this situation; however, these are not an excuse for allowing criminality to continue unabated,” she said.

“Some immediate actions in the metro should include the deployment of visible policing through the allocation of more police members and resources to SAPS, and a plan of action to get the Municipal Police Force fully operational so as to ensure that municipal by-laws are enforced.

“Investment is critical in order to create employment but investors will not come to countries and cities where it is not safe for their employees and businesses to operate. Also tourism is an area where thousands of jobs can be created but tourists will not come to the country, if it is not safe to visit.

“Urgency now needs to be deployed in implementing solutions to address the unacceptably high crime levels. Along with this, strong enforcement is required of the country’s laws to protect all of its citizens and visitors,” she said. DM

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South Africa

Inaccessible police stations

Crime interrupted

Urgency required