Despite the Grahamstown SAPS assuring the public that the Joza Police Station now operates for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, local Joza residents say this is not the case. While the station operated 24/7 during the National Arts Festival, it has since gone back to closing at eratic times, exactly as it did before.
Despite the Grahamstown SAPS assuring the public that the Joza Police Station now operates for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, local Joza residents say this is not the case. While the station operated 24/7 during the National Arts Festival, it has since gone back to closing at eratic times, exactly as it did before.
Sipho Matyhila, who lives close to the police station, said that on weekends it gets worse. "When they are supposed to be working more extensively, they do not even open," he said.
Nomzamo Mavela, who also lives close by to the station, is not impressed with the situation, saying: “The way they provide service to us has not changed. We do not see any difference, we call them when in trouble, but they always tell us that there are no vans available. That used to be the case before and things have not changed,” he said angrily.
Some residents from Joza were surprised to hear about the new opening times as they were not even aware of any developments. Resident Lindelwa Mtsiba said that “We did not know that it operates as such. It is good though that they have decided to do that, as it will be helpful to the community," she said.
According to the station commissioner, Director Morgan Govender, the operation started in June during the Festival and the station is meant to provide all the services required by the community, including fighting crime and providing people with relevant information and services. Govender, who sounded enthusiastic about the development, explained that "the reason behind this new plan is that Joza is a very busy township with many reported crimes and since Festival we decided to open the police station 24/7”. He added that they realise many people do not know that the station operates fulltime and as a result, “we decided to speak to the media, so as to inform the community”. Yet there are only two police officers working at the station so each officer works a 12 hour shift.
Grocott’s Mail recently paid several visits to the station at different times of the day. On the first occasion everything apppeared functional as Inspector Tyelentombi was helping an elderly woman fill out a form. He was most attentive as it was clear the woman needed his help. After her departure, Tyelentombi made it clear that there was not much he could tell the media without his superiors’ permission.
“If there is anything that you would like to ask about the police station, you can speak to the spokesperson, and since he is on leave, you can speak to the Director of Police, Morgan Govender.” However, Tyelentombi insisted that the police station operates for 24 hours, seven days a week.
On the second visit, at around 11am, the door was closed and no one answered the repeated knocks on the door. Nearby, outside Nombulelo Secondary School hawkers selling their wares seemed like the most obvious people to ask. One trader, who prefers to remain anonymous, sarcastically laughed and said: “That is the 24/7 they are talking about. They just close whenever they feel like it and people come with documents to be certified, but because there is no one there, they end up having to go to town.” She added that this is not ideal because many people do not have money for a taxi to town, especially in an emergency situation.
After a while a few people were seen coming out from the back of the building. When asked if there was someone inside, they said yes and pointed to the back door. Inside was an officer who, while helping several people, said: “I do not work here – I came here to make some phone calls. I am just helping because I do not know where the inspector in charge is.” After a while, Tyelentombi, who was the inspector in charge, came back and opened the front door.
When asked about the absence of a police inspector during office hours, Govender responded, saying: "The inspectors take chances sometimes and go home."
On the same day, Grocott’s Mail went back to the police station at 5pm and Tyelentombi was still in charge. He repeated that he will not speak to the media until he receives a mandate from the director to do so.
