A recent News24 article criticised my participation in an operation at the property known as “Mabena House” in Lynnwood Glen, implying that my involvement was somehow improper or unlawful.
Let me be clear: I make no apology for being there.
This is the hands-on leadership I will bring back to the Tshwane Mayor’s Office in tackling law and order in the city, just like I did during the City of Tshwane’s wildcat strikes and when I didn’t cave to people who vandalized municipal property.
I thank the community patrollers, private security personnel and law-enforcement officers who accompanied me to several sites that evening, including Mabena House.
For too long, the breakdown of basic law and order has been normalised in South Africa.
When residents complain about criminality in their neighbourhoods, they are either ignored by the police or attacked for daring to raise their concerns above those of illegal occupants.
Mabena House was hijacked during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Neighbours complain that it has been turned into a drug den and a brothel.
The property is less than 50 meters from EduExcellence Primary and High School and approximately 100 meters from Bambini Pre-School.
The building was damaged by open fires and condemned as unsafe for occupation.
Despite this, more than 20 people are believed to be living there.
The property owner cannot be reached and probably lacks the resources to get her property back.
During my public engagements, residents of Lynnwood Glen have repeatedly raised concerns about crime, including muggings.
Many say they no longer feel safe walking through their own neighbourhood.
The response of the South African Police Service to their complaints has been inconsistent and ineffective.
The operation resulted in the arrest of a person suspected of selling drugs.
He fled the property by jumping over a wall, but private security personnel positioned near Atterbury Road intercepted him.
Our presence at Mabena House did not solve the problem.
The property will have to be lawfully cleared of its illegal occupants and demolished.
But in the meantime, the law must be enforced.
The incident shows why a coordinated approach to policing matters.
A single TMPD vehicle could not have covered every exit from the property.
Had private security not been positioned near Atterbury Road, the suspected drug dealer would likely have escaped.
Criminals exploit gaps in enforcement.
Cooperation between law enforcement, private security and organised communities helps close those gaps and gives us a better chance of taking back our streets.
Too often in South Africa, it feels as though the law is used more effectively to protect criminals than to protect the honest, law-abiding residents who live with the consequences of crime.
The law must protect everyone’s rights.
But it cannot become a shield behind which criminal activity continues while families barricade
themselves behind walls, children walk past dangerous buildings on their way to school, and residents are too afraid to walk through their own neighbourhoods.
I will continue to stand with communities and law-enforcement officers who are working lawfully to take back our streets.
I will not apologise for making common cause with men and women who give their own time and resources to patrol our streets and public spaces.
We cannot allow criminals to feel more protected than the people they prey upon.