'Politics a trigger of violence in KwaMashu men's hostel'

Political influence has been cited as one of the triggers of violence in the KwaMashu men's hostel, north of Durban.

Nathi Biyela, one of the leaders tasked with ending violence at the hostel, made this assertion on Sunday.

“We accept the importance of politics in our society. But we call upon our traditional leaders to assist us by talking to parties who have support in this hostel to ensure that when they come to us they make an undertaking of deploying people who have people's interests at heart,” said Biyela.

He lamented that politicians only come to hostels to serve their own interests which often triggers conflict among hostels dwellers.

“Most of the time people who often perish are those who are in leadership positions. There are also those who may be at odds with harmonious living inside the hostels because of their own political agendas.”

Biyela spoke after police minister Bheki Cele and provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi met traditional leaders with the aim of ending killings at the hostel.

Cele said it was concerning the local police station had recorded an increase in murder and attempted murder cases.

“In the past this station was behind notorious stations like that of Inanda and uMlazi,” said Cele.

He acknowledged the hostel was frequented by alleged hitmen.

Biyela said criminality had increased due to “squalid” informal settlements mushrooming around the hostels.

“Its easy for thugs to get away with this because its almost impossible to track them down. Its also saddening to see that most of the people who live here often get accosted when they walk in the maze of footpaths dotting this area, often on their way to work.”

He said a railway line in the vicinity had become a dangerous area.

“I know that reporting crime can have its own perils as we all coexist here. We need to come up with creative strategies which we could employ to save lives and not endanger other people,” said Biyela.

Mthembiseni Thusi said the 2006 formation of a crime-fighting initiative to deal with the scourge had sought to diffuse and eliminate tensions within hostels.

One of the ways they aimed to achieve this was to rope in traditional leaders, as most of the hostel dwellers had migrated from rural areas.

“So today we want the people to help rid this hostel of the negative stigma,” said Thusi.

He said they were encouraged by the presence of police, saying it would go a long way towards fostering unity between them and hostel dwellers.

Thusi said relocating from rural areas to Durban should not result in people falling foul of the law. “People should rather see coming to Durban as a way in which they could change the fortunes and livelihoods of their families more, especially their children.”

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