ActionSA is concerned by the Temba South African Police Service’s (SAPS) refusal to account to community members following a visit to the station. 

ActionSA Provincial Campaigns Manager, Abel Tau, and community members visited the police station to meet with the Acting Station Commander, Colonel Zwane, to address community complaints regarding a gang of alleged undocumented foreign nationals which continue to terrorise the community.

Upon arrival at the station, ActionSA was met with hostility from officers, who denied us and community members entry to the station. After several hours, we were permitted an audience with the Acting Station Commander.

At the same time, the community of Zithobeni in Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria, equally staged a protest regarding the lack of service delivery by the SAPS in their area. From unresolved cases to rising crime, this community is said to have had enough. Pretoria has been ranked as the third most dangerous city in the world by Numbeo’s 2021 crime index. It is time the SAPS act to protect communities.

On Thursday, 03 June 2021, ActionSA will picket outside the offices of the Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner, General Elias Mawela, in protest of the police’s failure to protect communities from crime.

ActionSA will also write to Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to engage them on ways to address present policing failures and misconduct by officers. ActionSA will not stop until SAPS properly serves our communities.

 

Issued by ActionSA