More than 100 uMhlanga residents gathered at the home of neighbour Bheki Cele to address escalating crime in the area.
|||Durban - More than 100 concerned uMhlanga residents gathered at the home of neighbour and former national police commissioner Bheki Cele this week to address escalating crime in their community.
Cele said a community group had been formed and officials elected to drive the group’s anti-crime initiatives.
But, on Wednesday night, the former top cop declined to elaborate on the meeting, or on crime in the area, and referred all questions to resident Gail Pumphrett.
Cele’s home was burgled, and whisky as well as other valuables stolen, last month.
Days before, a 63-year-old woman was found murdered in nearby Egret Place.
“He (Cele) said at the meeting that we were all sick and tired of crime,” Pumphrett said.
“He said we did not feel safe in our homes, that we felt scared,” he said.
Residents needed to feel safe and to be able to let their children play in the streets, he said.
The community made a commitment to work together and would convene again in the near future, said Pumphrett.
“Then we can put in place new security measures and discuss introducing additional security,” she added.
Cele replaced Jackie Selebi as national police commissioner in July 2009, after Selebi was suspended the previous year for corruption.
During his tenure Cele was respected by many for his no-nonsense approach to crime.
But he was dismissed after less than two years following an inquiry which found he had been illegally involved in the R1.6 billion lease of a police building.
The Mercury