By day she’s a domestic worker, but after hours Elicia Mini fights for justice in the Grahamstown Transit camp.
Frustrated by a lack of police presence in the area, Transit residents informally police the streets themselves – lead by Elicia ‘Superwoman’ Mini. The Transit superwoman spoke to our reporter, Kyla Herrmannsen.
Click here to view her story and to see what local police think of Transit residents aprehending tsotsis in the area allegedly without police assistance
By Kyla Herrmannsen & Shanel Pillay
A local woman is apprehending criminals in the Transit area and is encouraging her community to do the same. Frustrated by the lack of police presence in the area, Transit residents informally police the streets themselves.
According to SAPS statistics, bold crime in Grahamstown is on the rise. Yet when we hear of crime these days we barley blink an eye and taking precautions is a routine part of our everyday lives. Its only when the precautions we take seem inadequate, that we begin to fearfully blink at the thought of our vulnerability. It seems crime is not only on the rise but also the fearlessness of Grahamstown’s felons. Daylight is as good a time as any. Earlier this year two people were stabbed to death at midday in a local suburb, cars and houses are broken into in broad daylight, even when residents are home. Thieves are not only carrying weapons but also bolt cutters to ensure a successful break-in. Hi-Tech security is usually first on the scene with the police trailing behind. It seems locals are realising that their sense of security is a false one.
Grocott’s Mail reporter, Luvuyo Mjekula has been reporting on crime in Grahamstown for years, and agrees that crime is certainly taking on a more brazen nature, “Crime is getting bolder, more out in the open for anyone to see.” Mjekula recently reported on an armed robbery at Noluthando Hall in Joza, where pensioners were held at gunpoint and robbed of all their money. Students have also felt the effects of these more major crimes happening in the Grahamstown area. We spoke to two students who have recently had first hand experience of the increasingly violent and arrogant nature of these crimes.
Megan DeWaal a third year BSc student, woke up to find three intruders in her digs on Parry Street. What shocked DeWaal most was the chillingly cool and methodical way in which the thieves went about their business… [podcast]http://rutv3.ru.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/sequence-03.mp3 [/podcast]
Martin Ross, another student at Rhodes, was one of the victims of the recent spike in car break-ins this month. His car was broken into on Milner street between the relatively busy hours of five and eight o’clock in the morning. Surprisingly it wasn’t just his radio that was stolen…. [podcast]http://rutv3.ru.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/crime-bite_1.mp3[/podcast]
Elicia or “Superwoman” as she is affectionately known by her community has taken matters into her own hands. Her community in the township has expressed a complete disillusionment with the police response in their area.
Although bold crime may be on the rise, statistics show that the number of major crimes in Grahamstown have neither risen nor dropped since the figures released in 2002.
You may have watched our video on the Get home safe project. A new report gives some of the stats around the problem. They are really shocking. RUTV reporter Matthew Mpahlwa goes into detail to bring you more on this story.
It is probably uncontroversial to state that all university campuses struggle with containing and controlling alcohol consumption by their students, since the age at which students first enter such institutions is an age of freedom and experimentation, where young people have the opportunity to test the limits previously set by parents and schools. This story attempts to address this gap by reporting on a survey of alcohol usage patterns at Rhodes University (in Grahamstown), the smallest tertiary institution in South Africa, with an annual enrolment of just under 6000 students. This story provides a brief overview of strategies which the University has adopted in recent years in an attempt to control alcohol usage and alcohol abuse, as well as describing the local context, which is also relevant to student drinking behaviour. While the level of drinking at Rhodes University is possibly no higher than that at any other University in South Africa, it does have a rather undesirable reputation as the “drinking university”, and the reason for this is twofold: firstly, the drinking behaviour is highly visible, because of the size of the town, and because of the location of many off-campus pubs and bars near to the university. This means that Rhodes students pursue their after-hours relaxation in a very concentrated, small area like Rhodes University.
As a result of this situation, the Dean of Students Office initiated the Get Home Safe Project, to serve as safety net for students to arrive home safely after long hours of drinking. They will be driven home by student volunteers who are on stand -by on all night. During week days they operate from Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 pm to 3:00 am in the morning.
For more information on the Get Home Safe project you can visit the Dean of Students website using the following link : http://www.ru.ac.za/deanofstudents
Raphael HIV testing and support CentreThe Raphael Centre located in Grahamstown, South Africa is a HIV/AIDS testing and support centre. Lately, though, this haven for people infected or affected by the virus has been rought by troubles. The future of the centre is uncertain as it needs sponsors to ensure it’s survival. Meanwhile other issues, like an objecting neighbour are also posing problems for the centre which helps over 1 000 people every month.