RESIDENTS were tired of being terrorised by thugs so they came up with a plan.
The people of Khwezi Park in Cape Town have built a wall to keep criminals out.
Community leader Nonzame Sili told Daily Sun: “We built a wall to block off a passage linking us to Site C and Drift-sand. We feel sorry for people who used that passage but we couldn’t sit back while criminals did what they wanted.”
They first built the wall on 25 August but it was broken down by thugs.
“They came at night and destroyed it but we rebuilt it and we have people looking after it so they don’t break it down again,” she said.
Nonzame said thugs used their addresses to order Uber taxis and then robbed drivers.
A resident said closing the passage was the best thing they could do.
“We had no other choice. We couldn’t even request taxis because they were getting robbed,” said the resident.
“Criminals know they will get away with what they are doing. It is time for us to stand as a community and protect ourselves. We cannot wait for anyone else to do it for us.”
MMC for transport Rob Quintas said the formal closure of lanes needed to be approved by the municipality.
“The residents need to formally request a closure via the sub-council and then a formal process will be followed.
“The closure can only be granted once all city departments have provided comments,” he said.
Quintas said the closure was illegal as it was done without the council’s approval.
“While the motivation for lane closure is crime it must be noted that due to urban design, lane closures lead to increased pedestrian movement along routes used by cars, which may impact on the safety of pedestrians,” he said.
