Durban community policing groups undeterred by 3 members' murders

North Durban community policing groups says they will not be deterred in their crime-fighting efforts, despite the murder of three of their members this week.

Two members from the eThekwini neighbourhood watch were shot dead in different locations in Inanda on Sunday, while a member of the Waterloo community policing forum (CPF), Myeki Majola, was shot dead in Verulam on Monday. 

Njabulo Mgiyane, co-founder and secretary of the neighbourhood watch, told TimesLIVE that Mzwandile Mbambo was killed in front of family in his home in Inanda C section, while Avela Nompahla was killed in a nearby soccer field — both allegedly by a local gang leader.

“It’s very tragic to lose members of our organisation within 30 minutes of each other. What hurts most is the fact that the perpetrator is still at large,” Mgiyane said.

He said the alleged perpetrator had been spotted on a number of occasions since Monday but the response time by the police has been “too slow to get to him”.

“What happens is that you will spot him, tip off law enforcement, but by the time they get there he has already left the place. Also, he is not someone you would want to expose yourself that you’re following because it can be dangerous for you.”

Inanda has been described as one of the criminal hotspots in the country, much of it due to the presence of gangs.

Mgiyane said the individual who allegedly killed the two had been terrorising the community for years, leading others to leave the area.

“It’s a gang of young boys, mostly in their early 20s. They’re the last people you would suspect of causing such horror when you see them, but they are dangerous,” he said.

“But there is one individual who is prominent, I think he is the ringleader. They are tormenting the community. Close to 10 families have relocated because of this person and he is known to law enforcement.”

He said neighbourhood members were aware they were being “hunted” by the gang, which had resulted in increased security by the government. Mgiyane said this week’s incident had “frightened” them but he insisted it had also made them stronger.

“You cannot not be frightened because it’s very difficult to protect the community while you’re being hunted, but it’s something we have dedicated ourselves to as community watch.

"There’s no turning back now because that would mean their death is in vain. We need to keep fighting just for them to get justice as soon as possible, so we need to continue working with law enforcement.”

Andile Jali, the organisation’s chairperson, said the incident showed they were not safe as community watchers because criminals saw them as “stumbling blocks” to get to their targets. He called for their swift capture.

“Our crime stats will not drop until these people are removed from the community. It’s either go to prison or to the grave, where they’ve put others as well, because they won’t surrender,” said Jali.

Majola was shot on the side of the road where he usually lights a fire and wait to accompany community members going to work early in the morning.

Xolani Ngcobo, the Waterloo CPF chairperson, said he could not confirm these incidents were linked.

“I cannot confirm whether or not these incidents are linked because we had never received any threats this side. We are still puzzled ourselves,” he said.

KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited the victim’s families, accompanied by ANC eThekwini members including former mayor Zandile Gumede, on Thursday.

Dube-Ncube urged the community to keep working with law enforcement to ensure the perpetrators were found.

“The sad thing is that we know the criminals are very few and as communities we should be in a position to identify them so the police can be able to make the arrests,” she said.

She conceded that there was not enough resources to respond to such crimes. She pointed out, however, that the government had tried to intervene.

“As government we have not sat by. That’s why we deployed these cars for community safety officers to utilise, as well as the two-way radios to communicate with the police and share the whereabouts of criminals.”

TimesLIVE