Residents of Diepsloot, north west of Johannesburg, say they are at war with criminals after four people were killed in separate incidents on Saturday alone. Community leaders believe that the shootings are in retaliation to the vigilante attack that claimed seven lives in December. Community members believe that criminals are avenging themselves.
Johannes Mabe, Abel Sithole, Justice Motlhale, Tshifivha Mukhovha were all shot dead on Saturday night in separate incidents within Diepsloot. A community leader Loyiso Toyiya said the suspects who are believed to be illegal immigrants are unknown to them, but they were once residents of Diepsloot before they were banished.
He said the police are not doing enough to stop the violence and crime in the area. "Last year, we even made an effort to go to the office of the President asking them to intervene. The issue of crime in Diepsloot is not only failed by inadequate policing, but it's the fact that we have a lot of informal settlements that contribute to majorly to the disruption of this area hence we asked for formalisation." He added that there was slow progress in their requests from the Office of the Presidency, police ministry as well as human settlements. "We did say that we were not convinced by the police they brought in, they only patrolled the main roads for a short period of time. We don't need a temporary solution; we want a permanent solution where members of Technical Response Team are able to infiltrate the whole area. Hence, we woke up on Saturday morning and four people had been killed while three are critical in hospital, what's happening in this community is not normal," he said.
Toyiya said politicians shouldn't even attempt to come to Diepsloot campaigning for the upcoming elections because they will chase them away. "Our situation needs serious attention, that's why we are calling on all national leadership to intervene because we are dying. People are dying in Diepsloot. They must not come here when it's time to vote. These ministers act like Hollywood stars when they see cameras, we don't want that anymore." Toyiya added that Abel "Absa" Sithole, who is amongst the deceased was a member of the Community Policing Forum. He said Sithole was followed for months before his murder on Saturday allegedly by 10 suspects following a robbery. "Sithole was a man who fought and protected the residents, he risked his life daily and that's why criminals saw him as a threat and took his life. We are at war with criminals. We don't know them, but they know us and probably pass us daily on the streets."
