Muduluni becomes a gangsters den

The community of Muduluni, in the Kutama area, are deeply worried about the apparent rise in gangsterism in their community. The reason for their concern stems from two recent incidents where people were randomly attacked by gangsters.

On the night of 28 October, three men were walking home from the local tavern when they were accosted, out of nowhere, by three armed suspects who randomly started shooting at them. Two of the victims were wounded and taken to the hospital for treatment. No-one has been arrested yet.

In the latest incident, which happened in the early hours of Sunday, 5 November, just as load shedding came into effect, a gang of men randomly started stabbing patrons inside and outside another tavern in the village, wounding more than 10 people. The police are still searching for the suspects.

One of the residents, who wished to remain anonymous, said Muduluni village was plagued by crime, such as housebreaking, assault, and robbery. “Most of the crimes are committed late at night when liquor outlets close. Crime can only be defeated if the community assist the police.” He urged community members to report any criminal activities to the police. “Criminals must be removed from the community. They have no place in our village, and we will never protect them. Gangsters deserve to rot in jail because they cause havoc in our peaceful land. We are tired of gangsters ruling our communities.”

He said they had identified a number of groups and the names of alleged perpetrators and would be visiting their homes. “The problem is that parents defend their children. They live with stolen property in their homes. When we go and identify the culprits at their homes, their parents come out and defend them. We are saying to the parents, please stop defending your children,” he said.

The police spokesperson, Sgt Tshifhiwa Radzilani, said the police would spare no effort in the war against crime. “We will work with community stakeholders until we defeat crime. We are going to work on the information we have and hope something positive will come from this,” she said.

Radzilani emphasised that residents are not to take the law into their own hands but should rather visit the police station and request to become involved with the community policing forum (CPF). “The CPF and the police will work together and see how best to solve the problem of crime. Mob justice, and this includes burning so-called suspects, will not solve crime since it is a criminal activity in itself.”

Date:09 November 2023

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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