Africa-Press – South-Africa. Diepsloot residents claim they are living in fear despite the deployment of more police officers, including the Tactical Response Team (TRT).
They took to the streets on Tuesday, complaining about escalating crime, particularly murder, barricading roads, and torching stalls.
Community leader Lefa Nkala claimed since the beginning of June, six people have been killed in Diepsloot, including former community policing forum chairperson John Makola.
Makola was shot last week while responding to an armed robbery in the area.
He succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Sunday, according to Nkala.
“We have the TRT that has been deployed here since last year. Some officers are from KwaZulu-Natal. These TRT members are on holiday here.
“They are dating local women. They only patrol on the main roads. They don’t go to places where people are dying.
“Our people are dying in squatter camps. The police can’t even drive or walk to those informal settlements.”
Nkala said he believed officers were afraid to patrol informal settlements.
“The police are armed. Criminals are armed too. How can we defend ourselves if we don’t have arms? The state arms the police. They can go everywhere. We want the police to patrol dangerous places in Diepsloot,” he added.
“We are complaining that our people are being killed. We have dangerous criminals here. They are in a war against the community. We are not just dealing with normal criminals here.”
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed six people had been killed since the beginning of June.
“Police are on the ground in Diepsloot. Communities with challenges are those in extensions 12, 1 and 6.
“We can confirm that there have been six murders in Diepsloot since the beginning of June, including that of Maloka.
“There was an attempted robbery case where a mother and her son were attacked. The suspects were arrested within hours.
“We have also arrested other suspects for various crimes in the area,” Muridili said.
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