By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
With limited resources, Alex patrollers have already caught more than 30 dangerous tsotsis within a very short space of time.
When they call themselves Operation Wanya Tsotsi, they mean business ! These patrollers are not in the mission to babysit criminals. Whenever they pass, their earthquake presence is felt and a Tsotsi is bound to run for his life or surrender!
These mothers and fathers have one thing in common: They are gatvol of crime. Their eyes are bitter; bitter against drugs, against illegal guns…and if they find you committing crime, you will be sjamboked. As a result, you will be bound to nurse your wounds behind bars.
There were a lot of things the patrollers did, such as catching criminals and sending them to the police.
But yesterday (13 December) they got 8 guns. That left me with curiosity. I had to leave my bed earlier and search for them.
As a journalist with connections, I was informed that they had gathered in an open space next to Minerva High School and that two thugs were screeming in agony.
The thugs were alleged hid their guns in a shack after they attempted to rape a girl at gun point.
” If we catch you, we make sure that we marinate your buttocks,” said a patroller.
“Had there been no marination, we would not have been able to find 8 firearms yesterday. And this means that more crimes could have been committed,” said another patrollers.
They said that on their yesterday’s patrol, they found a suspect with clothes that had perks attacked to them. After an unfriendly interrogation, the thug revealed that he was working with a former inmate, a resident of 20th Selbourne who was once jailed for murder.
That’s when the first weapon was discovered. After an ugly marination with no one to rescue them, the suspects had no choice, but to expose their accomplice.
In a short period of time, 8 guns had already been recovered by the brave brigadiers.
Their aim is to see Alex becoming a drug-free township. They want to deal with cable thieves and any sort of criminality.
However, they may look courageous in dealing with criminals, but they have no resources.
” If we knock at your door asking for R10, don’t mistake us for beggars, we only do that in order to find resources so that we protect you,” another patroller said.
They leave their homes early in the morning and patrol between one and thirteen avenues.
Many of them lack tourches, safety boots, radios for communications or uniform.
In the rainy season, these dedicated volunteers are exposed to the flu and other illnesses because they do not have raincoats and other safety kits.
Winter is imminent and warm jackets would be required. For them, it is common to return home very late, sometimes eating nothing in the name of helping the community.
In a reality that cannot be ignored, patrol officers have earned the confidence of the majority of residents.
Are you going to praise them and contribute nothing to them? You better come with a solution to ensure they too have a bread on their tables every month!