By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The leader of the Diepsloot Community Forum Lefa Nkala has been arrested, along with other two other community leaders, and rubber bullets fired as police try to restore calm.
Residents are calling upon the president Cyril Ramaphosa to come to the crime-ridden Gauteng township to address them.
Ongoing violent protests erupted in response to the community’s outcry against the escalating brutal crimes in their neighbourhood.
Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo says more police officers have been deployed to the township.
“We have to mobilise more police officers because it was now getting out of hand, it is not intimidation, but as the police, we have an obligation to protect other people who are not part of this protest, and we are expecting more police officers on the ground.”
“We have to protect people who are running businesses here and their property as well. So far, we have arrested three people, and we have since charged them with public violence,” he added
The unrest was ignited by the tragic death of John Makola, a member of the community policing forum, who was fatally shot while responding to a call for help.
Expressing disappointment in government’s response, a resident who took part in the protests explained why Makola’s murder ignited their extreme response: “The police failed to protect us, so we established policing forums to ensure our safety. But even those forum leaders are not safe from these criminals. It shows that they don’t care. They are so audacious that they target and gun down our policing forum leaders.”
Public safety expert Jacob Mofokeng says the community’s concerns are legitimate as local police stations are ill-equipped to deal with crime.
Mofokeng said robberies have increased and police stations have been under-resourced for years.
“The communities of Diepsloot have come to a point where they feel that they need to see the president, which should never happen,” he said.
On Wednesday, City of Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda addressed the hostel residents in Soweto to discuss his “first phase of focus”.
He said the water and electricity issues will be addressed on Monday, vowing that his office will “focus on the most important aspects of [the community’s] daily lived experiences”.