Community safety organizations in Elsies River are sounding the alarm over an escalating wave of gang-related violence, following a “bloody” weekend in which at least six people lost their lives.
Hamish Arries, chief of the Elsies River safety initiative and former deputy chairperson of the community policing forum (CPF), expressed concern about the lack of proactive policing in the area, despite promises of reinforcements from law enforcement.
“We are seeing an unacceptable level of violence in Elsies River at the moment. It’s a war zone, and yet, the police are not taking the proactive steps needed to address this crisis,” said Arries.
Meanwhile, the situation has been further complicated by the dissolution of the Elsies River CPF just days before their Annual General Meeting (AGM) last month.
Community activist Imraahn Mukaddam, explained on VOC’s News Beat show that the election process for a new CPF is currently under review.
“We are waiting for the outcome of the appeal process, so at the moment there is no functioning CPF in Elsies River. This has left us in the middle of a serious gang war,” Mukaddam shared.
Arries and Mukaddam both called for urgent intervention from the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile, stressing that the community needs all hands on deck to prevent further violence.
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
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