RESIDENTS IDENTIFY GARANKUWA AS A CABLE THEFT HOT SPOT.
Garankuwa Zone 1 has been identified as a hotspot for cable theft. There was a cable theft attempt at Grace Kingdom Church at Garankuwa on the 15th of June 2021. No arrests had been made yet, However the cables thieves are allegedly suspected to be close community members. The cables are most targeted at midnight, hardly a week passes without any cables stolen from these areas resulting in a huge inconvenience for the residents.
Sbusiso Zondi, Operational officer at Garankuwa said that ” There was cable theft attempt on the 15th of June at Grace Kingdom Church. It was a group of people, I am not sure about the number. I immediately contacted the SAPS for help however they couldn’t answer. The SAPS haven’t made any follow up in this matter, South African justice system is weak. No arrest have been made till this day. Cable theft negatively affects the residents because it result in power outages”
One of the church members that chose to remain anonymous said that “I am not making any serious allegations because I don’t have any prove yet, however Garankuwa has a lot of foreign nationals that specialize in cable theft, robbery and housebreaking. They normally use knives, and knives I suspect that the cable thieves are close community members. Police officer are failing us as a community. This theft leads to a huge inconvenience”
Sources that chose to remain anonymous said, “they stole my neighbors cables last week that also affected me and my family because the electricity went off for a week. I wish these thieves could be found and arrested. They are group of people and they target the cables in the early morning hours when everyone is already asleep.”
We were still waiting for a response from the SAPS and the ward councillor. Meanwhile community memberd are pleading with SAPS to find a solution to this matter and to also prioritize answering the crime stop phone calls that could possibly save the lives of others.
By: Mbali Mabena.
