Diepsloot residents burnt shacks they believed housed criminals who terrorise the community.
PHOTO: Tshepiso Motloung, News24
- Dieplsloot residents want President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit the community and address its concerns about crime.
- Angry protesters burnt tyres and barricaded roads on Monday evening.
- They also burnt shacks they believed to house alleged criminals who terrorise the community.
Police Minister Bheki Cele has failed to come up with permanent solutions to crippling crime in Diepsloot despite visiting the area in April.
This is the view of angry residents who took to the streets on Monday night to protest crime and demand a visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Protesters burnt tyres and barricaded the roads in sections 1, 2, 5,7 and 8 of the suburb.
They also threatened to “shut down Diepsloot and the N14 until the president comes here”.
“When he is done resolving the issues of Ukraine and Russia, he must come and resolve his issues in South Africa,” resident Loyiso Doyiya told News24.
The residents also torched shacks they alleged housed the criminals who terrorise the community.
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Community leader Chairs Serobedi said while violence was not the answer, it was “the only way we can have an ear from our government”.
He said:
These shacks are a danger to our community. The community feels the only way we can have an ear from our government is through [violence].
Last week, the residents protested crime following several shootings, one of which claimed the life of a Community Policing Forum member.
They said police were temporarily deployed in the area.
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However, they said, this was not the permanent solution they sought because killings continued to grip the community.
“We have lost two people after our strike on Friday. It seems the memorandum we handed to the police hasn’t borne any fruit,” said Serobedi.
He added that visits by state officials did not benefit the community. He called the officials out for their hypocrisy, saying the protection of bodyguards cushioned them while the residents were targets of crime.
Protesters dispersed when police arrived at the scene.