Mamelodi youth tired of living in fear slams ‘complicit’ police

Young people in Mamelodi, Pretoria, say they are tired of crime and living in fear.

They’ve slammed the rampant crime in the area, accusing the police of being complicit and incompetent.

They claim the men and women in blue exacerbate the problem as they are also involved in criminality.

“We are having high crime in Mamelodi so far and it is affecting us as youth and students in Mamelodi. The police must pull up their socks; they must start working and do their duty. They are working with the law but they are abusing the law. They are the ones causing corruption in South Africa,” says Temoso Ramano, who is a member of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) in the area.

The organisation had joined other Mamelodi residents and members of the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA), who marched to the Mamelodi West Magistrate Court to demand justice for 20-year-old Sandile Mdluli who was fatally stabbed while vising his girlfriend.

The residents say they are terrified by the “rising levels of violence” in their neighbourhood.

Tswelopele Ntuli, a 23-year-old community activist in the renowned township, claims that insecurity and entitlement among some men in the area have resulted in extremely aggressive individuals.

He thinks that some young guys have also now become violent due to the continuous exposure to the violence at home and within society.

“Violence amongst men in Mamelodi is at its highest peak. One thing we have analysed while doing our door-to-door research is that violent young people in our community have mostly been victims themselves before. Some grow up in violent homes and grow up thinking that it is normal for people to be violent against each other, while It’s not,” says Ntuli.

He adds that residents have become weary of the police’s involvement in most situations because they are in cohorts with criminals. According to the 23-year-old, CPF patrollers in the region have successfully resolved more criminal cases than the police have.

The young people have described Mdluli’s fatal stabbing last week as the final straw — with young activists in the township calling on the community to rise up and demand safer living conditions.

The YCLSA’s Tsholofelo Maseko says the violence must end.

“What we want to achieve as the young people of Mamelodi is to stop the crime and violence that is basically going on. Young people are not safe so we wanna use this opportunity as a way to alert everyone that we’re tired of violence; we’re tired of burying people our age; we’re tired of feeling unsafe or living in fear,” says Maseko.

She insists that justice must take its course, adding that they are pushing for Mdluli’s killer to receive a life sentence.

Maseko was among the approximately 60 demonstrators who handed over a petition to the local magistrate’s court, requesting a harsh prison sentence for the alleged culprit, who is now scott free after the court closed the case against him today, citing the lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute.

The victim’s family members say they are struggling to cope.

Sandile Mdluli’s older sister, Jennifer, says they had high aspirations for his future.

“We are all shattered because he was only young. He was supposed to turn 21 next month on the 17th of May. We were looking forward to celebrating with him and even had future plans for him but now we are obviously shattered. My mom can’t cope or even speak to any one because the morning before Sandile died, he accompanied my mom to the taxi rank and he showed no signs that he will be gone soon,” says the grieving sibling.

She claims her brother had recently completed matric and was now volunteering at a local school doing maintenance.

Sandile was allegedly stabbed by a neighbour’s boyfriend after a brief verbal disagreement.

He died of internal bleeding shortly after being admitted to the intensive care unit.

His girlfriend, Dakalo Baloyi, says she always felt safe in his presence and is now left with a gaping hole by his absence.

Baloyi (18), who was with Mdluli at the time of tragedy, says she is traumatised by the incident.

The heart-wrenched teen says her boyfriend’s untimely death has left her feeling empty, as he always ensured she was meticulously cared for whenever they were together.

“I trusted him, even when we walked in the streets at night I would trust that I am walking with a real man. He protected me and did everything for me. He would give me stuff that I needed for school and sometimes gave me money for transport,” adds Baloyi.

The case against Mdluli’s alleged killer was withdrawn based on the accused girlfriend’s testimony, who he was visiting when he allegedly committed the murder.

According to the young woman’s statement, the victim is the one who had the knife in his hand, suggesting that he accidently stabbed himself.

She was the only one given the platform to testify, despite the deceased’s girlfriend also being present in court and witnessed the incident.

Shaken and conflicted by the verdict, the Young Communist League in the area vowed to continue seeking justice for their fallen comrade.

YCLSA’s Nokuthula Khoza says they are confident that the alleged suspect is at fault.

“We are 100% positive and sure that it is him. We have witnesses, which I can’t mention at the moment. For now, we just have to stay calm and wait for justice to prevail,” adds Khoza. Written by Odirile Rabolao