West Rand – praag.org

Black mob attacks, strips white family home bare on West Rand

by Riaan van Zyl

Residents’ greatest fear came true on the evening of 18 January when rioters turned on private property.

One such resident in South Road, René Scheepers (40) and her three children were getting ready for bed at approximately 10pm when rocks started flying through the windows of the house. She immediately contacted the Witpoortjie Neighbourhood Watch who in turn contacted a nyala (police armoured vehicle) patrolling the area.

The rock-pelting attack was so intense that the nyala could not access Scheepers’ property. In the meanwhile she and her children locked themselves in a room.

Only at approximately 3am on Sunday 19 January the nyala got access to the house and evacuated the family. As soon as they left the protesters went on the rampage in the house stripping it of everything moveable such as jewellery, furniture, electric appliances, expensive crockery and even the children’s schoolbags. Scheepers’ family came the next morning to save what was left.

Scheepers has indicated that out of fear she will not move back to the house. She currently is residing with family.

A lot of questions has been raised about the SAPS and JMPD’s lack of pro-active policing in the ongoing protests. – Roodepoort Record

Crime fighter’s son burnt alive

A father was patrolling one side of Khutsong on the West Rand when a mob attacked and killed his son in another section during a wave of killings, according to a report on Tuesday.

The Khutsong crime fighter’s son was accused of being a criminal and burnt alive with a friend at the weekend, said The Star.

Simon Khumalo and his other son Desmond had joined other patrollers who were going around the township looking for members of the Casanova gang said to be terrorising the community, the publication reported.

Khumalo’s son Akhona, 24, and a friend Mojalefa Maleho, 23, had fled the sight of an approaching mob singing and brandishing weapons.

They knocked on the door of Liziwe Mbaxa of Extension Three who had locked herself inside the house after seeing the mob. She did not open.

They hid in the house next door where the mob discovered them.

Mbaxa told the newspaper that she saw the mob dragging the two and beating them up.

“After beating them, they sent someone to go buy paraffin and doused them with it, put a tyre on them and set them alight,” she told the publication.

Khumalo was at the other end of the township at the time, and had been among people gathered at a local stadium to discuss crime.

He said he does not think he would be involved in crime prevention strategies again.

“If they trusted me, they would have told me that my child was on the list of people they were looking for. They did not even tell me they had killed him, I only arrived here to find ashes,” he told the newspaper.

Six people accused of gangsterism were burnt and killed in the township over the weekend. No arrests have been made. – Sapa

Woman wounded in Roodepoort taxi shooting

A woman was wounded on Tuesday in a shooting believed to be related to taxi violence in Roodepoort, Johannesburg metro police said.

“The injured female was taken to hospital and four taxis were damaged,” Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said.

The shooting occurred at the intersection of Ontdekkers and CR Swart roads on the West Rand.

He said the road would be closed until further notice to allow police time to investigate. The reason for the suspected taxi violence was not yet known and would form part of investigations.

SA Police Service spokesman Constable Vincent Mashiteng said police were hunting for three man who fled the scene in a blue Toyota Corolla after the shooting.

He said the three were on foot when they started shooting at a taxi and then randomly shot at passing cars.

“At least 10 shots were fired with one hitting the woman who was transported to hospital,” he said.

No one in the taxi was hurt.

The shooting came a day after a Diepsloot man was wounded after taxi drivers in the area went on strike.

The drivers were demanding to be promoted to taxi owners. The man was standing with other taxi drivers when a silver-grey Mercedes-Benz drove up.

An argument ensued between the taxi drivers and the occupants of the car, one of whom opened fire, hitting the man in the lower body.

Mashiteng could not confirm whether the two incidents were linked, but said there had been taxi problems in the area for some time. No arrests had been made. – Sapa