Pastors lead a procession to the taxi rank as residents voice fears over violence and police appeal for greater cooperation against crime
By Peter Luhanga
- Church groups gathered on Saturday to pray against crime, gender-based violence. and for free and fair municipal elections on 4 November.
- Activist calls for accountability over a woman’s killing – suspect to reappear in court in 5 November.
- Local police commander says they aim to reduce crime by 25%, appeals for protection of late night commuters.
Church leaders in Dunoon called for an end to crime and gender-based violence during a prayer procession on Saturday, as well as praying for the protection of women and children and a free and fair municipal election.
Pastors from several church organisations took turns leading prayers at Sophakama Primary School before participants walked to the Dunoon taxi rank, where taxi bosses joined them.
Those taking part included Ward 104 councillor Bulelwa Mayende, community leaders, Table View police station commander Colonel Thembelani Mahlatshana, the Table View Community Police Forum, and the Dunoon Neighbourhood Watch.
Bonginkosi Luthuli, who organised the gathering, is a pastor at To Please Him Church, and secretary of the Dunoon Pastors Fraternal. He is also active in the Dunoon branch of the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) and the Dunoon Neighbourhood Watch.
He said residents were confronting crime, mob justice, and violence against women, and that the churches were seeking divine intervention.
“Everything wrong is happening in Dunoon,” said Luthuli.
At the taxi rank, Xolani Mathimba, chairperson of the Dunoon Pastors Fraternal, said churches were worshipping alongside the Dunoon Taxi Association and SANCO.
Mathimba said their prayers focused on protecting children, improving community safety and tackling crime, as well as for free and fair municipal elections.
Taxi rank safety
Nkosivumile Ndikandika, a former chairperson of the Dunoon taxi rank, said its founders had prayed at its opening in the hope that it would benefit the community.
Ndikandika said he had helped establish the rank and was troubled that people were now unsafe there. He urged those running it to confront crime and protect those who used it.
He said prayer, rather than weapons, should guide their response. Returning to the prayers offered at the rank’s opening would reaffirm its original purpose as a welcoming place, he said, calling for evil to be driven out.
Mayende urged residents to draw strength from their faith, saying God was their last source of hope. She prayed for reconciliation and an end to conflict in the community.
She asked for protection and relief for people exhausted by hardship. She encouraged residents to speak to God about their everyday lives, even if they struggled with prayer, and to give thanks for reaching home alive.
She thanked those attending and said she believed the gathering’s prayers had been heard.
The gathering took place as campaigning continued for the municipal elections on Wednesday 4 November when voters will elect new municipal councils.
In Ward 104, posters for political parties’ ward candidates hang from lamp posts along public roads and in informal settlements.
No March and March
Luthuli also said the community did not want March and March in Dunoon following the shooting of members of the movement during a protest on Saturday 17 October.
“We don’t want March and March,” he said, warning that looting could follow and people could be killed.
March and March is an anti-immigration movement demanding stricter enforcement against undocumented migrants. In June, Dunoon community and faith leaders publicly opposed a proposed demonstration by the anti-immigrant movement, saying it could put residents and businesses at risk.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk said Table View police had registered five counts of attempted murder and were also investigating public violence following the shooting on 17 October.
He said five demonstrators were wounded when shots were fired at about 12.15pm at the intersection of Potsdam and The Stables roads.
The injured were three women aged 40, 42, and 48, and two men aged 35, and 43. All five were taken to hospital for treatment.
Young woman murdered
Community activist Nomvuzo Makumela, chairperson of the Nomvuzo Foundation which campaigns against gender-based violence, said residents no longer felt safe in Dunoon and had to remain alert wherever they went.
She said people were distressed by the violence and struggling to understand what was happening in their community. Makumela also called for accountability over the reported killing of a woman by her boyfriend on 13 October.
SAPS spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala said Milnerton police had registered a murder case after a 26-year-old woman’s body was found in a room in Mzoli Street, Dunoon, at about 1.18pm that day.
Gwala said a 25-year-old man had allegedly stabbed the woman after an argument. She was declared dead at the scene.
The suspect was later struck by a vehicle on the N7. He was arrested and taken to a medical facility for treatment.
He appeared in court on Friday 23 October, where the case was postponed to 5 November.
Mahlatshana appealed for greater cooperation against crime, saying taxi drivers had been asked to help protect passengers using the last taxis at night.
He said police were present in the community, but robberies continued and residents’ help was needed to prevent crime.
Mahlatshana said the target was to reduce crime by 25% this year. Achieving that would require considerable work, he said, even if some people might consider the target modest.
He said Milnerton was among the country’s top 30 crime-reporting police stations, while Table View was among the top 30 in the Western Cape.
He said intruders were forcing their way into homes and raping women. The number of rape cases at Table View were higher than they had anticipated.
Mahlatshana said the ward councillor had invited him to discuss crime prevention. He also linked unemployment to crime, and encouraged residents to apply online for work, including vacancies advertised by SAPS.