Zille leads anti-crime march through PE‘s northern areas

Khanyi Ndabeni HERALD REPORTER

DA leader Helen Zille led about 400 residents in a march against crime in Port Elizabeth‘s northern areas at the weekend. The 5km march covered areas including Durban Road, Highfield Road, Stanford Road and Schauderville.

Zille said the march targeted areas that are dominated by drug lords and liquor stores as these are seen as the problematic areas in these communities.

The Cape Town mayor also visited the two families who lost their sons due to gang violence in the city recently.

The family of Cruise Jansen, 14 – a member of the “Fat Cats” gang in Schaurdeville – was shot dead, allegedly by a member of the Scheepers gang a week ago.

Bridgett Smith, the mother of Clayton, 23, could not hold back her tears when she told Zille about her only son‘s brutal murder in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, April 12. “His skull was crushed in an ambush by a gangster on his way home from a disco that Saturday,” she said.

What hurts Smith the most is to see the perpetrators walking free in the streets of Schauderville, she said.

“Zille‘s visit brings comfort and at least I know the is someone who feels the pain I‘m going through,” she said.

Zille said that gangsterism in the northern areas had escalated both in the number of gangs operating and the violent method they use over the years.

“There are at least 15 different gangs and around 50 drug distribution points in the area. Some of the gangsters operating in this area are as young as 12 years old, but are already selling dagga, tik, mandrax, ecstasy and cocaine to other children,” she said.

She said the DA‘s number one priority was to root out crime and that the party would use everything in its power to achieve a crime-free South Africa.