Everson Luhanga has reported on the troubled township of Diepsloot for four years. In that time, he has seen politicians come and go, each bringing promises of safety to its desperate community. None has ever made a difference.
Screams break the silence every night in Diepsloot – the screams of residents attacked in their homes or on the streets and crying out for help.
Every day and every night, mortuary vans make their way through the poverty-stricken township, picking up dead bodies that have been placed in body bags by paramedics.
As I write this piece today, on Wednesday 31 January, a woman has just reported to a Diepsloot WhatsApp group that her brother, who was shot in his home on Tuesday night, has succumbed to the wounds he suffered.
On the night he was shot, so were several other people. An ATM was also bombed and an undisclosed amount of money was taken by the robbers.
Residents are killed for cellphones, television sets, and even shoes. In some instances, nothing is taken from the victims except their lives.
As night falls, paramedics are getting ready to certify yet another person dead. Walking in the streets of Diepsloot, one can smell the fear.
Community leader Vincent Ndou told Scrolla.Africa the township is like a cage where chickens wait for their turn to be slaughtered.
“Any day it could be your day to die. It doesn’t matter what position or status you have in this community. We have seen community leaders being senselessly killed. Everyone is a target; old or young.”
Children cry to their mothers and fathers, parents cry to their community leaders and even the trusted community leaders take their frustrations and tears to the police officers who are mandated to protect them.
But the police seem to have run out of ideas of how they can help the destitute residents in this crime-ridden Gauteng township. And even they are not spared. Constable TT Mashele, described by residents and colleagues as seasoned and dedicated, was hijacked, robbed, disarmed and shot on 17 November 2023 in Diepsloot ext. 1. He died on Thursday 28 December.
Families are left heartbroken and torn apart after losing their loved ones – all at the hands of brazen criminals who have taken over the township. Most of the victims are breadwinners who leave behind traumatised children and their mothers with no one to take care of them.
Some parents say their children sleep under the beds when gunshots start echoing in the streets as a measure to keep safe. But no one is safe.
A host of relevant authorities have descended on the troubled township in the past year or two, promising to bring law and order. I can’t remember how many times Police Minister Bheki Cele has visited the township and deployed special police units like the elite Special Task Force tactical response team – known as amaBerete (men in berets) – to help combat crime. So far, that hasn’t helped.
Late last year, soldiers were spotted in some parts of the township. Residents were relieved. But they too have not helped and have not been seen again.
Home Affairs officials have been conducting raids and several undocumented foreigners who are accused by locals of committing crimes have been arrested and sent to the Lindela Repatriation Centre. Once again, nothing has changed.
Premier Panyaza Lesufi brought in the Gauteng crime wardens, known on the streets as amapanyapanya, and deployed “the green army” to help the police curb the scourge of crime. But still, the mortuary vans keep on picking up the bodies of those who have been killed by armed criminals.
Residents have tried everything to bring peace to Diepsloot.
Every night, residents report on their community crime-fighting WhatsApp groups about gunshots echoing in different parts of the township. All they can do is blow their whistles, hoping that the heavily armed thugs will retreat – only to find more bodies being picked up the following morning.
In 2022, community leaders erected a steel fence around Diepsloot in a desperate attempt to enforce a curfew in the area and keep its residents safe at night.
Recently, some have resorted to hiring private security companies to guard them. But all they can afford to contribute is R100 per person.
Several attempts to bring President Cyril Ramaphosa to the township have failed, even when residents marched to the Union Buildings to call attention to their plight. But even if he visited, few believe it would truly make a difference.
On Wednesday, Scrolla.Africa spoke to National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola about Diepsloot – he said the police were working hard to fight criminality in the township.
However, he said the layout of the township makes it difficult for the authorities. “Some of the areas are dark and impossible to drive in. We, however, are not giving up with the fight. There is a big deployment of police officials in the township.”
Pictured above: Some of the names of people who were brutally murdered by criminals in Diepsloot (above); The ATM which was bombed on Tuesday night (middle); The covered body of a murdered Diepsloot resident found last Saturday (below).
Images source: Everson Luhanga
