Murder reports in Grahamstown over the past few weeks have caused Grahamstown Ministers Fraternal to call a meeting next week to discuss the issue of escalating crime.
Murder reports in Grahamstown over the past few weeks have caused Grahamstown Ministers Fraternal to call a meeting next week to discuss the issue of escalating crime.
Secretary of the Fraternal, the Reverend Dumile Monakali, said the recent brutal murders left them with no option but to call all stakeholders to meet to discuss the matter.
Monakali said they wanted the meeting to include faith-based and civic organisations, political parties, municipal councillors and government departments.
"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss social problems such as rape and murdering of young and old women. We also have a problem of drug and substance abuse, which I believe is caused by unemployment and inability to enter tertiary institutions.
"This meeting will be a platform for organisations to have a dialogue on the level of crime in our municipality," said Monakali. He said that as a faith organisation the fraternal was concerned when serious and dreadful gender violence was committed against the most vulnerable people in the communities.
Monakali said they have been visiting the homes of the victims and conducting prayers. He added that people were fearing for their lives because they don't know the motives behind the killings.
In the past few weeks, three women were murdered and their bodies discovered in the Mayfield veld. Two of those had some of their body parts removed. Police have confirmed that, in those cases, they are investigating murder dockets.
No arrests by police have yet been reported.
The meeting will be at the Apostolic Faith Mission and Restoration center in 'Z' Street in Tantyi location at 6pm on Tuesday 29 September.
