RESIDENTS from Site C in Khayelitsha held a march and prayer meeting on Saturday, 22 April to pray against crime.
This after thugs recently forced some female congregants to strip naked before robbing them of their belongings.
The thugs also allegedly forced some congregants to perform oral sex in front of other congregants.
Ward Councillor Khayalethu Kama, who organised the march, said the incident left residents traumatised.
He said residents in his ward are being held hostage by criminals.
“We are encountering serious crime in our kasi. Young girls are being raped and people are getting killed. The recent incident where women were made to strip and were sexually assaulted by thugs in a church in Taiwan has shocked us all. That is why we decided as various stakeholders to pray against crime,” said Kama.
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Churches, police, the City of Cape Town and other partners were part of the prayer meeting.
The prayer meeting came after the church incident and another incident, where four teenage girls were raped and one of them, Thimla Kuze (13), was murdered on 25 March.
Khayelitsha top cop Brigadier Mononepheli Magobiyane said it is important for the community and cops to join hands and fight crime.
“Cops are there to fight crime, but there are crimes that can happen even if cops are on the streets. Police may not make a difference to stop a crime like the one that happened at the church,” said Magobiyane.
He said some of the crimes that happen behind closed doors such as gender-based violence need residents to work with cops.
Resident Nokwanda Xhamela (44) said she is happy that many people have taken to the streets against crime.
"People have made a statement that they do not want crime in our kasi. We hope to have more cops and neighbourhood watch on our streets because thugs are taking us for granted,” she said.
Police spokesman Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the Khayelitsha Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit is handling the church matter.
Two suspects, aged 20 and 25, were charged with sexual assault and business robbery.
