Xolani residents united and marched through the streets twice in the past week before successfully removing two murder suspects from the normally quiet neighbourhood.
Xolani residents united and marched through the streets twice in the past week before successfully removing two murder suspects from the normally quiet neighbourhood.
The fed up group of residents decided to take action against two murder suspects out on bail whom they perceived to be a threat to their community.
Xolani resident Moses Damani said residents met last Friday to discuss concerns about the two individuals who have recently been released from custody. Damani told Grocott's Mail they took the action against the two because they were arrested in connection with murder cases that shook the neighbourhood a few months ago.
"This emanates from the fact that they murdered in the community [people]whom we considered our brothers," he said.
Grocott's Mail reported that Xolani residents took matters into their own hands last Sunday, as they marched to the homes of two murder suspects calling for them to be removed from the area. The residents notified police about the planned action.
Somngesi Street resident Nolukhanyo Kahla said members of the community heard that both suspects in the two cases were out of custody.
"As residents we decided that we don't want them in our community because we don't feel comfortable living with them in the community," she said. Popular Radio Grahamstown DJ Simphiwe “Peaceman” Ngeleza died in Settler’s Hospital hours after he had been stabbed outside a tavern in Somngesi Street in August.
The residents first made their way to the home of the man who was charged with Ngeleza's murder in Nonzube Street to chase him out, but he was not there. From there they made their way to Royi Street to chase out a woman who is a suspect in the murder of her boyfriend.
The woman, who was arrested for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend to death, was released on R500 bail in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court on 1 August. The 31-year-old woman was arrested after relatives of her late boyfriend, Bonakele Ngqiyaza, found his lifeless body in a pool of blood in his room on 25 July. The couple reportedly had been arguing.
Magistrate Thembela Mata released the woman, who faces murder charges, on R500 bail.
Police officers at the scene on Sunday arrived just in time to take the 31-year-old woman away as residents charged towards her outside her home. She was taken away by police while a relative who was with her at the time looked on. She is due to appear in court on 7 November.
After ensuring that the woman was removed from the area, the determined community members once again shifted their attention back to the man on Tuesday, when they marched to his shack in Zolani informal settlement with police. Kahla said they went to Ward 3 councillor Marcelle Booysen to confirm their suspicions that the man had unlawfully built a shack in the area.
"She checked for us and confirmed that the house was built unlawfully," she said. Booysen could not be reached Thursday to confirm the report. They went to the shack and found the man there.
"He initially refused to leave but afterwards he could see that he didn't have a choice," Kahla said.
The residents were also called to the Joza police station to discuss the matter on Wednesday, according to Kahla. She said police took statements from some of them. She added that the residents had drafted a letter to the Magistrate's Court calling for the man to be kept in custody.
Kahla said the man was taken into custody regarding threats he had made to some community members. He is due to appear in court today, 17 October, where he faces charges of intimidation, according to Damani. Damani said the intimidation charges rise from threats the man allegedly made to community members last Saturday.
"According to information available to me, he threatened five or six, saying he was not afraid to kill if he has to," Damani said. Police were unavailable Thursday to confirm his allegations. Responding to questions after the march, police spokesperson Lieutenant Luvuyo Mjekula said police were made aware of the event.
"Police were at the scene to ensure that there was no violence," he said. The event created a lively debate on Facebook, with most comments supporting the action and lamenting how the neighbourhood has deteriorated over the years.
