MyPE

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When Criminals Do Not Fear The Law

By

Dear Editor

On 27 April 2023 our organization Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM) joined other civil society formations in a community march against violent crime. We handed a petition in at the Bethelsdorp Police Station.

We could have marched to any police station as violent crime is a major scourge across Nelson Mandela Bay. We symbolically chose Bethelsdorp because it is identified in the latest police crime statistics as one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods to live in in the whole country.

This is a place where it is unsafe to send a child on an errand during the day lest they never return, caught in the daily crossfire between warring gangs.

We also chose to march on 27 April because this is the day when our country is supposed to be celebrating almost 30 years of freedom, yet there is not much to show for it. Instead our people live in terror. They are hostages in their own homes while violent thugs rule the roost.

As a nation we have arrived at a point where criminals seemingly have no reason to fear the law.

They either are confident that they will never get caught and be punished for their crimes, or in the unlikely event that they are apprehended they expect to be let off lightly. That is why mass shootings of innocent citizens brazenly happen in broad daylight.

That a thug can have the gall to shoot a uniformed police officer in a place of law, inside a court building, is their ultimate middle finger to the rule of law. Same day a medical doctor whilst attending patients is shot and killed in cold blood.

The real danger of course is that communities faced daily with rampant violent crime are being pushed to a tipping point where they may decide to take extra-legal measures to defend themselves.

We saw what happened in the past when neighbourhoods formed structures that came to be known as self-defence units and suspected criminals were literally burnt at the stake with tyres.

After the community march and the petition we are sending a clarion call yet again, that the apparent impotence of Minister Bheki Cele’s department to come up with an effective strategy to arrest this upsurge in violent crime could lead our country back to a past we do not wish to experience again.

If the government does not move swiftly to take decisive action to discharge its Constitutional duty to protect our communities we shall derive no pleasure in saying we told you so should the current state of lawlessness descend to another level.

Regards

MAXHOBA BUWA
Secretary-General, Abantu Integrity Movement

Views Since 15 July 2022: 37

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.