Waiting 14 years for a 2nd police station

Just two months ago, four people aged between 12 and 28 were killed in Nyanga. Another person was hospitalised [1]. Murders like this are not rare in the township. In the last two years alone, the murder rate has increased, with one in 206 people killed every year [2]. In the police ministry budget tabled in May, the Minister of Police announced that the residents of Nyanga will have to wait until 2023 for construction of a second police station. This despite the fact that the one currently servicing the community is severely overstretched and doesn’t even have enough space for all its police officers.

For years now, the people of Nyanga have lived in terror. The township is known as Mzansi’s murder capital. The Department of Police has for years ignored calls for a second station. But with support from amandla. mobi, the calls for the police station grew louder, and in October a piece of land to build a police station was identified [3].

But now the current Minister, Bheki Cele, has shown that he too is in no rush to move it forward. His own budget speech, but if enough of us take action this is our chance to get the Minister's attention and show him that the people of Nyanga, along with the amandla. mobi community are demanding that he takes action.

[1] Four killed in Nyanga shooting, Shamiela Fisher for EyeWitness News. 4 April 2018.
[2] Nyanga, Western Cape, has a murder rate of one in every 206 people, Tom Head for The South African. 26 October 2017.
[3] Land near Nyanga identified for a new police station, Okuhle Hlati for Independent News. 27 October 2017.