Whilst crime continues in Laudium and residents continue to live in fear, police are doing very little (if anything) to address the many concerns of residents.
What is also obvious, is that the many political parties that contested the last elections in the area, a few years ago, are still in hibernation, and have not offered any assistance in the fight against crime in the area, nor have they addressed the lack of service delivery.
However, as the elections draw closer, Laudium will once again see a number of top brass politicians, who will be available as a ‘dime a dozen’ and they will once more address the community and mislead them with false promises and once more, we as a community will unfortunately give them a standing ovation and even invite them to our homes for tea and perhaps even some biryani.
This follows, another Laudium family being left distraught, yet again after their Cuprene Street home was attacked by a gang of armed thugs on a busy Sunday, at around midday.
Victim, Suraiya Dawood, explained to the Laudium Sun the events of that day that has traumatized her whole family, “This past Sunday [August15] was just like any normal Sunday. We were chilling in the room and one of our helpers was washing one of our cars in the front of the house. The next thing, he was accosted by an armed gang who put a gun to his head and forced him to go with them into the yard. The thugs had to go to the back portion of the house as the front door was locked. Whilst inside the yard, my aunty saw the thieves and started screaming. One of the gang members then fired a shot to get her attention and brought her into the house also. We were all caught off guard. The gang quickly went through each room to see who was there and brought us all into one room, where they tied our hands with cable ties. They kept on demanding money and even hit our helper with a crowbar on his head and upper body. He was badly injured. They stole all our cellphones, the TV in the lounge, a laptop, cash, and some small items. They actually ransacked our whole house. They spent about half an hour in the house and then left. I was told by someone that the gang came with two cars, a VW GTI and a Black Toyota Hilux. I only saw three of them, but others said there were five of them. It was a very frightening experience and I just hope that something is done about this high crime around here. We have two problems in our area. The one is the vacant veld opposite our houses and the other is the house nearby that is running a food scheme. Since they started giving out food there, there has been an influx of vagrants hanging around, outside our homes, waiting for the time to get food. These vagrants then watch our homes and sit in front of our homes also making a mess. We, the residents in the area are planning a petition to meet with the committee of the food scheme place. We don’t mind that they cook the food there, but they should distribute it from somewhere else. I am sure the people on the committee will not like to give the food out, from outside their houses and let all these vagrants hang around outside their own homes. What I find strange is that these thugs attacked us on a Sunday, when our street is much busier, yet this did not deter them.”
Fuzail Sheik, manager at the Ghaus Paak Langar Khana said, “I will speak to my seniors and wait for the residents to come and talk with us.” Mukhtar Cassim of the Ghaus Paak Langar Khana, did not respond to our message to call us back.
Sergeant Simon Choke, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “Police in Laudium are investigating a case of house robbery that happened on Cuprene Street on 2021-08-15 midday in Laudium. It is alleged that the victims were at their residential address on Cuprene Street when two African males entered the yard and asked for water. It is further alleged that the victim walked inside the house to fetch them something to drink the water from. The suspects followed the victim inside the house and pointed everyone in the house with firearms, then ordered them to lay down on the floor and tied them up. The following were taken: TV, Laptop, Cellphones and an undisclosed amount of money. A shot was fired but no injuries have been reported. No arrests have been made yet. All suspects fled the scene. Police are pleading to anyone with information which might lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact the SAPS on 0860010111 or to contact the local police station. Police are further urging the community to report any suspicious motor vehicles or persons to the police without fear. Together we can create safer communities.”
*The local CPF was criticised for not addressing the concerns of residents since the time a local NGO started giving out free food in the area. Criticisms against the CPF again poured in, after the CPF announced two days back that an agreement was made for a security company to be stationed outside the place giving out food during feeding time. In response, many residents said that the CPF had completely missed the point, as residents are now at risk on a 24 hour basis and not just at the feeding time.
**A number of residents have complained on the Laudium Sun FB page, after the incident was posted on our platform. See their comments on our Facebook Page.
