×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Soshanguve’s heroic protection unit makes streets safer

Unemployed youth become useful to the community

The group was established in June and is made up of about 40 members aged between 18 and 45.
The group was established in June and is made up of about 40 members aged between 18 and 45.
Image: Keletso Mkhwanazi

A group of youth from Soshanguve in Tshwane have come together to form a team of patrollers who escort and protect workers and learners who usually fall prey to thugs who rob them of their belongings. 

The group was established in June and is made up of about 40 members aged between 18 and 45. Their priority is to patrol Extension 1 and to escort people when they leave home or come back from work in the wee hours of the morning.

Sowetan visited the area recently and witnessed the unarmed group taking adults and scholars to their various bus stops while wearing reflector jackets and armed with vuvuzelas for communication. 

Chairperson of the patrollers Jackey Mangwane, 31, said the idea of forming a forum was conceived by him and his friends, whom he used to loiter in the streets with. He said every time a crime is committed in their neighbourhood, they are the first ones to be asked if they had anything to do with it and are sometimes suspected of the crime.

“Six of us decided to be practical about the idea before involving the community. We woke up at 4am and started escorting workers and pupils to bus stops and taxi ranks,” he said, adding that after a week they started recruiting other unemployed youths.

“We are slowly winning our fight against crime. Complaints have decreased and we will continue to work hard to achieve a crime-free community,” said Mangwane.

He said their only challenge is that they need proper safety training, gear and working equipment.  Their office also needs furniture. They rely on the community for donations. 

Mangwane said they are working with their local police station and would hand over suspects they have apprehended to the police and make further follow ups.

Ntombikayise Nkosi, 45, a resident who works at a bakery store in Montana, said she has benefited from the patrollers’ services. She takes her bus at 5am to go to work.

“The patrollers are doing a magnificent job. I have been robbed of two cellphones on my way to work in a period of less than three months since I started working in February,” she said.

The robberies forced her to leave her phone at home. “But I now take it with me because I’m protected,” she added.

“They have really changed our neighbourhood. If other communities in and around Soshanguve could do this, crime will decrease,” said Nkosi.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.