Download PDFA gang member who is a drug addict was beaten to a pulp by Extension 2n3 community members, in Kagiso, Swaneville. The man who had stolen from a Somali-owned shop was left brutally injured after the assault.
The community became even more enraged by the fact that the thieves were not even residents of Extension 2n3. Some community members believe that is one reason the thief who was caught was beaten up brutally. Drug use and addiction are other driving forces fuelling theft in the community.
Drug use and addiction are causing serious damage with a big part of youth addicted. Many youths no longer care about doing good things for the community due to the influence of substances. As a result, knife crime and mugging are rampant in the streets, all in a bid to get money to finance drug addiction. Some harass their parents and families.
Mampho Sedibeng, 32, says that she wonders about the ingredients used to create the drugs that so many children are addicted to. She thinks the substances make them lose their minds because once they start using, they no longer respect them as parents and start stealing money and other things to sell.
The community of Swaneville is concerned that crime has now become a norm around the area. Community members fear that gangs are now taking over, some trying to rape women in the presence of their children. The community says that they have even tried involving the police, but the police have been unhelpful since arrested suspects seem to get out of jail within a few days. It is not clear if these boys even get criminal records.
Another contributing factor to the increase in local crime may be due severe and crippling unemployment. One Swaneville resident thought that nepotism may also have a hand in making youth make bad choices because those who do want employment cannot find any work. The people who are in influential positions hire their family members, friends, and people they know. They don’t hire people who are seeking employment, out of a fair criterion. Many people are also eager to become ‘familiar hires.’
21-year-old Kagiso Motene says that his friend with whom they grew up together joined a bad group and ended up making the wrong choices. Motene says he broke up their friendship after seeing that his friend was becoming a gangster. He tried many times to reprimand him, but his friend did not take his advice.
He continues saying that he is grateful he did not become one of them otherwise his family would have been very disappointed in him. For himself, it would have been a life of pain and danger because mob justice attacks can result in severe injury or even death. He advises the youth involved in gangs that it is not good to continue living the way they are because the life of gangsterism does not pay. Instead, they will die brutal deaths in the end.
The community of Swaneville has now decided that they will take matters into their own hands and discipline the gang members and criminals as they feel that the police are not doing much to help. The community of Extension 2n3 is planning to establish a patrolling association that will monitor the streets and provide extra security throughout the day and night.
This article was submitted on 18 February 2024. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
