By Buziwe Nocuze
Langa Police Station in Cape Town is ready to serve the people — but only at certain times of the day.
It allegedly closes up shop to avoid being robbed.
A resident visited the police station at around 5am but couldn’t get inside because the gate was locked.
“I tried to call the officers, but no one responded,” Amandla Mgojwana told Scrolla.Africa.
“I contacted the station commander, asking why they are locking the police station.”
The station commander allegedly told her she should have pressed the button — except there was no button.
“He contacted the on-duty officers to open for me, which they did,” said Amanda.
“Imagine if I was being attacked outside the station while the gate was locked.”
She said it would make a huge difference if police were deployed the way they should be.
“We will stop complaining about an officer who is not doing their job, and no one will want to sleep on the job or have an attitude towards the community members,” she said.
Community activist Apostle Zongamenele Baliso received many reports about the station and went there to ask why it was being locked.
“They said it was because of break-ins at other police stations,” said Baliso.
But he allegedly discovered that the police close it when the members want to sleep. So he asked residents to take photos of the sleeping police officers.
“There are many stories, but this cannot justify anything, because the station is failing the public and referring people to Langa Safety Patrol,” he said.
Station commander Colonel Tebogo Jacobs said locking the station is part of police safety precautions and it doesn’t happen only at Langa.
“Access control must be managed, mostly during the night. Safety gates are used for safety purposes and there are regulations all stations must comply with,” Jacobs said.
Even so, he emphasised that safety gates can’t be used to deny the community access to the station.
“For the record, the police station does not close; it is just that the safety gate will be closed during the night. The community must press the bell and members must open the safety gate,” he said.
Pictured above: Langa Police Station
Image source: Vukani News
