The communities of Tsianda and Ha-Mutsha were urged to report all incidents of crime to the police to avoid a situation where they could harbour criminals who might kill them this festive season.
This was said during the Levubu police station's launch of Operation Lupenyo at the Mutsha Community Hall a fortnight ago.
The commander of the Thohoyandou cluster of the SAPS, Col Azwindini Mafelatshuma, said the police promoted the slogan 'Alone we cannot make it' to encourage the community to work with the police to foster peace and safety in the communities. "We need more involvement of the communities in issues of policing and in the fight against crime," Mafelatshuma said.
Munna Ndi Nnyi's Mr Calvin Mathebula said an individual must use the information available to fight crime and also empower fellow community members. "If your education has nothing to do with uplifting the community from which you come, that education is useless," he said.
He echoed Col Mafelatshuma's statement on reporting all incidents and acts of crime to the police. "Why must the government issue large amounts of money for the identification and successful arrest of certain suspects, while there are people within our communities who already know who the criminals are?" he said. "That huge amount of money could be used to get your public water taps fixed or for something else."
Dean Alunamutwe Randitsheni, from the University of Venda, requested the officials at all police stations to give all victims and complainants the space to voice incidents of abuse without prejudice. "And all those people who tell children that they are either ugly or useless just like their mothers, must stop doing that," he said. "Why do you continue to despise women and children this much? Are you not aware that all men were born of a woman?"
The chairperson of the Tsia-Mutsha sector policing forum, Maine Vho-Matamba Mamuremi, said that the rural safety campaign was organised as part of the 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children. "We also need to find ways to prevent and fight crimes which are mainly committed against women and children, so that they can enjoy total peace," he said.