MITCHELL'S PLAIN
TELLING IT AS IT IS
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TUESDAY 10 February 2015 | 0021 910 6500 | Fax: 021 910 6501/06 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
LENTEGEUR
Raising a white flag
SAMANTHA LEE @Samantha_Lee121
A
peace agreement has been reached between rival gangs in Lentegeur. After a long-standing turf war between gangs in the area, the community has taken a stand. Lentegeur East Ratepayers’ Association chairperson Joseph Adams says gang bosses met in Lentegeur on Saturday 7 February. “The meeting was mediated and facilitated by the residents. Gang bosses met and the community members managed to broker a peace agreement between the gangs,” he says. The most recent shooting in Tritonia Street on Thursday 5 February was the last straw for many residents. At a subforum elective meeting on that day, residents came out in their numbers to address the current situation. Lentegeur Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson Mark Brookes acknowledged the concerns of the residents but encouraged them to stick to the election first. Residents said they were misinformed and attended because they thought they were there to address the shootings and ongoing gang violence in the area. One resident, who asks not to be named, says he has lost so much in the area and was upset that little was being done for them. “My son has been killed in this area. Anything we do now is too late,” he says. Another resident adds: “Most of the people are here to talk about the shootings in the area.” Brookes informed the residents of the reason for the meeting. “If we can just get through this election we will be able to address some of the other issues you may have,” he said. Sector 2 commander Sergeant Darryll Booysen confirmed that residents were misled but encouraged them to take the meeting seriously. “This meeting is not about the gang violence but let us take this seriously. We are here to elect a CPF subforum who will assist us in the fight against gang violence. After tonight we will schedule a meeting to address these issues,” he said. “The purpose of this forum is to have com-
Since the brokering of a peace agreement between rival gang in Lentegeur, there have been no reports of shootings. Gang leaders met in the streets on Saturday 7 February to end a longstanding turf war. PHOTO: SAMANTHA LEE munity members represented on the CPF. I understand the frustrations. We, too, are frustrated because no one wants to give us statements.” He committed to working with the elected panel in the sector and striving toward getting rid of the gang violence. But Booysen said the responsibility was not only that of police officials working in the area. “Why can’t you as the residents go to the
gang bosses and demand peace? [Police officers] are also human.” he asked the residents at the meeting. “It is your neighbours and their children who are committing these crimes, so why can’t you tell them to stop and take charge.” On Saturday residents did just that by putting an end to the turf war. It has been confirmed that no shootings took place in the area since the agreement. Brookes says he was disappointed by the
lack of men interested in the problem and commented that the responsibility will have to fall to the women’s shoulders. Newly-elected subforum chairperson Eva Swartz committed to dealing with the gang violence and other crime in days to come. V Sergeant Booysen urges Lentegeur Sector 2 residents to attend a public imbizo to be held at the Lentegeur Police Station boardroom on Monday 30 March at 19:00. The meeting will be a platform for residents to air their concerns about crime.