Langa High School hall was packed to the rafters on Wednesday 29 March as police top brass in the province visited the neighbourhood to engage residents on the strides made to fight crime.
Led by Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembekile Patekile and his deputy Maj-Gen Mpumelelo Manci, the Langa Community Imbizo was attended different stakeholders, including the provincial Community Policing Forum chair Fransina Lukas, Business Against Crime Western Cape, Shawn Koen and Deputy Director of Public Prosecution at National Prosecuting Authority Adv Tommy Bunguzana.
In his opening remarks, Manci described the meeting as a platform for the community to raise their concerns about the police and to come up with solutions to some of the challenges facing society.
He stated no-one should be chased away from the station and appealed for a good working relationship between the community and the police.
Residents were given an opportunity to ask questions directly to Patekile pertaining to the crime in the community.
The residents had mixed feelings about the Imbizo, some residents praised the police citing the gathering as a stepping stone into the future, while some residents saw it as a waste of time.
Melumzi Dyantyi, from Joe Slovo informal settlement, said nothing that would come out of the Imbizo.
He said they were terrorised by the criminals and the police did nothing. “We depend on the patrollers because the police are not patrolling in Joe Slovo,” said Dyantyi. “They go there only if there is an incident, such as the discovery of a body. But you’ll never see them going around.”
Eunice Matross, from Nkandla, said the commissioner’s visit offered the community some hope. She said he showed he cared about the Langa community.
Matross urged the police to be more visible, especially on weekends. “I appreciate the fact that the commissioner came to us to listen to our grievances.
“But we need him to monitor the Langa police because they are lazy.” However, she was quick to point out there were also some good and dedicated officers at the station.
Patekile described the Imbizo as also an official event to introduce the Langa station commander Brig Teboho Jacobs.
He said the Imbizo gave them an insight into some of challenges faced by the Langa community.
He promised that as police and all the other stakeholders they would try to fight crime in the communities.