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Residents living in fearof marauding criminals

NOT SAFE: Residents of Durban Deep in Roodepoort say it is a den of criminals. Pic. Vathiswa Ruselo. 24/03/2010. © Sowetan.
NOT SAFE: Residents of Durban Deep in Roodepoort say it is a den of criminals. Pic. Vathiswa Ruselo. 24/03/2010. © Sowetan.

DURBAN Deep in Roodepoort on the West Rand has become home for criminals.

Residents told Sowetan yesterday that they were living in fear because "at any given moment someone is robbed or stabbed".

"Thugs rob people in daylight and run into the reeds in the nearby stream. There is also a thick bush where they hide," resident Matshidiso Moditsile said.

He said armed robberies were rife and that police could not go into the bush because there were no roads.

A spaza shop owner, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, complained that police response was slow.

"They take hours to come after you have reported the incident."

Community leader Clement Hadebe said residents decided to start street committees to fight crime. "We have people patrolling the area at night as our contribution in fighting crime."

He said if the victims resisted during a robbery, the criminals shot them. "It's like they enjoy hurting people."

On March 6, three men raped a woman paramedic who went to help a toddler who had suffered burn wounds.

President Jacob Zuma and Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane visited the area last week and called for more security for paramedics. They also asked for the tall grass to be cut.

But by yesterday, the grass was still uncut.

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