BARBERTON - On Saturday, January 21, a group of concerned community members from Emjindini participated in a peaceful march to the Barberton Police Station. They handed over a memorandum in which they demand their safety to be guaranteed, to Station Commander, Col Johan Engelbrecht.

The memorandum contains accounts of how they have been victim to numerous brutal crimes and mentions all the innocent lives that have been lost due to lawlessness.

They also carried posters demanding peace. Some of these called for the expulsion of Mandla Mamba from the town. This former Ward 45 councillor for the City of Mbombela, has been in the news regularly over the years, more often than not for controversial reasons.

Saturday was not the first time for residents to demand Mamba’s removal. As one of the participants in the march said, “Wherever he (Mamba) is, you will find violence and fighting. The people of Umjindi had enough of living in constant fear and it’s time the police helped us remove all the troublemakers from our midst.”

The motivation for the march was to protest against the general disorder and mayhem currently rampant in Umjindi - and in Emjindini specifically.

Extracts from the memorandum read as follows:

“For many years Barberton has been ruled by a gun and panga - in full view of the police and, as a community we cannot remain mum. We feel the pain, tears and isolation suffered by majority of our people - “enough is enough”. We have maximised our patience beyond capacity and we can no longer take it or allow these things to happen.”

“Our people no longer live their lives in peace, but in constant fear of violent attacks.”

The letter requests the police to do their duty without fear, favour or prejudice and without tampering with the system.

Some of their demands include:

• For the SAPS to ensure the safety of the community
• An improved relationship between the community and the police
• For the police to be fully resourced to deal with crime successfully
• More police vehicles
• For the police to arrest all the perpetrators and all those who use the youth to commit
  violent crimes
• For the police to intensify its fight against crime and invest all its resources and energy in ensuring peace and stability in the area.

Editor’s opinion:
After waiting for close to an hour for the handover of the memo, I was informed that the march might not take place after all, so I left. The group, however, arrived just before 13:00. Mingling with these troubled community members during the few minutes my schedule allowed, and listening to their anti-crime songs, I deeply sensed their desperation, as well as their hopes of a better tomorrow and the faith they have in the Barberton Police Force. I have not been touched this deeply by such raw emotion in a long time. The people who gathered on Saturday in the parking lot across the police station were sincere. In my heart of hearts, I felt their cry for help, as if it had emanated from my very own soul.

One can only hope that the powers that be will assist the SAPS in meeting some, if not all, of their demands. Peace, justice and serving the community are, after all, what law enforcers the world over are supposed to uphold, but it can only be attained if all the role players come to the party. As a member of the community of Umjindi, I add my voice to this group of courageous citizens who marched for righteousness on Saturday.

Subeditor: Lynette Brink