MEC for Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison Helen Sauls-August is concerned about continued violent crimes in the province, particularly crimes on women, children and elderly. A mutilated body of an 18 year-old boy was discovered by police yesterday in Sitebe Village near Mthatha. A man alleged to be his uncle has been arrested when he was found in possession of body parts. The boy, who lived with his uncle went missing on Sunday, 4 November 2012.
“It is incomprehensible that a human being would commit such a gruesome act to another human being. It’s even worse that a relative could be involved in this inhumane atrocity. Families are supposed to protect each other instead of butchering each other like this,” MEC Helen Sauls-August said.
She thanked police for the speedy arrest of the suspect. “We commend the swift response by police on this case and encourage them to intensify their efforts even more as we approach the festive season,” she said.
She has instructed provincial department of Safety and Liaison to develop community programmes to mitigate these crimes working together with other sector departments and non-governmental organisations including churches and traditional leaders.
“Fighting Crime is our shared responsibility that needs all of us to take a stand by making our communities safer and free of criminal activities, particularly these violent attacks against elderly, children and women. We reiterate our call that families need to keep watch of their children and grandparents and not leave them in company of untrustworthy relatives or strangers. Non- governmental organisations, community based organisations and community workers must all join the fight against crime. We must all work together with SAPS to reclaim our homes, streets from criminals,” the MEC said.
Three (3) elderly women have been murdered recently in Flagstaff, WilloVale and Walmer in the past 7 days. “We are alarmed at the rate these crimes have occurred in the past seven days, but we remain steadfast in our approach to win the war against crime,” she concluded.
