Brigadier Aaron Mlenga, Ocean View Station Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Errol Merkeur and Lieutenant-Colonel Jan Meyer from the Wynberg cluster
1 June 2016
Masiphumelele residents repeated their call for a permanent police station in the township in a meeting with senior police officers yesterday.
The meeting was attended by about 50 Masiphumelele residents and Brigadier Aaron Mlenga, Ocean View Station Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Errol Merkeur and Lieutenant-Colonel Jan Meyer from the Wynberg cluster.
Mlenga acknowledged residents’ complaints about the removal of the mobile police station. A few days after GroundUp reported on this, a temporary mobile station was brought into Masiphumelele.
He said the spare part for the mobile station had not arrived from France and the temporary mobile station had been brought in in the meantime.
One resident pointed out that when Deputy Minister Maggie Sotyu had come to hand over the mobile police station she had said the community would get new police officers, but this had not happened.
Other residents complained about treatment they received at the mobile police station and questioned whether they could report crimes there. Lieutenant Masiza Phonco from the Ocean View Police station said residents could report cases at the mobile police station, and would get a case number when the files were computerised at Ocean View police station.
PR councillor Mzuvukile Nikelo said he was grateful for such meetings with police but what the community really needed was a permanent police station.
“We did say that we accept the temporary police station even when the Deputy Minister was here. But temporary remains temporary and we hope that the plans for us to get our own permanent police station have started. It’s been years we have been asking for one,” said Nikelo.