Residents take matter into their own hands!

TENSION continues to rise in the streets of Diepsloot, north of Joburg.

This after residents allegedly beat a man to death on Tuesday, 19 September.

Gauteng police spokeswoman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said police in Diepsloot are investigating a murder case after a man was found dead in Ingonyama Street on Tuesday.

"Officers investigated a complaint and found an unknown man lying in a pool of blood on the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are not yet known, and no one has been arrested," Nevhuhulwi said.

Speaking to community leader Loyiso Toyiya, he said the one suspect who died was apparently one of the four who allegedly fired random shots in the area during the day.

"I heard that these men were firing their guns randomly in the area during the day at about 2pm. At some point they allegedly tried to rob a shop.

"The community gathered and caught two of them. One managed to escape, but the other was beaten to death," Loyiso said.

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This is the reaction of the residents, who feel that the police have turned their backs on them and are now forced to take matters into their own hands.

"The community is saying they have had enough, and police are not visible. This is the feeling about the group and this is why they are doing this," he said.

Last Friday, Diepsloot residents embarked on a "peaceful" march to the police station where a memorandum of demands was received by police commissioner Major General Max Phasha.

They stressed that their safety was threatened by the increasing crime in the area and called on all police officers to leave the cop shop and take to the streets to fight crime.

"Enough is enough! We can't live like this," community leaders said.

It didn’t take long for Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to make a stop in Diepsloot on Monday, 18 September where he aimed to engage the community on various service delivery issues including crime.

The residents said they are fed up because criminals have turned Diepsloot into a shooting range and want the Tactical Response Team (TRT) officers to be sent to the area permanently.