Powerless and confronted with daily gunfire, residents of Soweto's Nomzamo informal settlement cite the proliferation of illegal guns and the lack of electricity for the high crime rate they suffer.

Community anti-crime patrols have been discontinued due to the danger, and families shelter inside their homes after dark.

“This area is a dark zone. Street lights do not work. We haven't had electricity for the past three years. I cannot even go to a shop at night,” said 37-year-old Andisiwa Mnyembane, pointing at a spaza outlet located a few steps from her home.

“A gun is a play toy here. We are used to it. When we heard gunshots on Sunday, we didn't know that people were dying, we thought it was the usual occurrence as they always shoot guns,” she said.

Mnyembane stays a few metres from the tavern where 15 people were killed in a hail of gunfire from high-calibre firearms. Police are searching for five gunmen who stormed the tavern at 00:30 on Sunday. Eight wounded patrons are being treated in hospitals. 

The mother of one spoke to TimesLIVE after Monday's visit by police minister Bheki Cele, his deputy Cassel Mathale and senior management of the SA Police Service led by national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola to Nomzamo Park in Orlando East. The top brass listened to residents' concerns at a community forum before promising interventions to tackle the problems.

About a kilometre from her home a family is in mourning after losing a son in the tragedy.

Sphethuxolo Chiliza, 28, was not a regular alcohol drinker and rarely frequented local establishments, generally not going out late, said a family member, Xolelwa Bala. 

“I think this was just bad luck, he is someone who hardly goes there. It is painful, his parents are not here — they are in the Eastern Cape,” said Bala.

Chiliza had only just returned to the settlement on Friday, after being on a work assignment.

According to his brother-in-law Siyanda Mbele, Chiliza used to work while staying in the settlement but the company he worked for relocated him. “He wasn't around for about a month and only returned on Friday.”

That was the last day he saw him alive. “When I met him he told me that he was going to deposit money. On Saturday I went to work, so I couldn't see him.”

Mbele described Chiliza as a someone who didn't pick fights with anyone. “He was a good person, but there is nothing we can do. He is gone.”

He lamented the high crime rate in the settlement.

“Guns are shot every day. When you leave early to go to work, the lights are off — it's highly likely that you are targeted by criminals. Also when you arrive back late from work — it is a problem in terms of safety,” he said.

Mnyembane locks herself inside her home as soon as the sun sets.

“We are not safe. We are neglected. If there were street lights, this couldn't happen. The police are afraid to come here. We don't have CPFs and patrollers, you are on your own here. You look after yourself,” she said.

She said patrollers used to be visible but that initiative stopped about three years ago.

Another resident, Wandile Rafuza, said a lack of equipment to protect the patrollers had led to residents losing interest.

“Patrollers didn't have resources. We don't have [active] CPFs now but we do have CPF structures. Because of what is happening here, no-one wants to be involved. We are all afraid,” he said.

Greater Orlando CPF chairperson Dumi Twala admitted it had been difficult to establish proper CPF structures in the Nomzamo area in the past three years.

He also cited the gun problem in the area and its lack of electricity.

“We were here during a crime prevention operation and we wanted to form the block committees. Some people raised their arms to say they wanted to join. But when we contacted them, they started telling us about fearing for their lives and it being dark.

“We are going to work together with the police in terms of fighting crime in this area, but we cannot do it alone. We can do it together as a community working with police,” he said.

After listening to residents, Cele said officers from the Tactical Response Team (TRT) would be deployed to assist with policing.

“As of today [Monday] before you sleep, they [TRT] will be patrolling the area. I'm sure once they have arrived it will be clear that they are here.

“We urge you to work with them so that they can patrol the area and protect the community. We want to saturate the streets here and ensure that we take power back from the thugs.”

Cele said an additional fleet of vehicles has also been directed to the Orlando policing precinct to expand the SAPS footprint and support crime combating and prevention operations. In addition, “police visibility will be heightened through disruptive operations that are aimed at rooting out criminality and tackling the high prevalence of illegal firearms in the area.”

TimesLIVE