"Criminals have no place in our village and we will never protect them. They deserve to rot in jail because they cause havoc in our peaceful land."

So said the villagers of Mukula, outside Thohoyandou, in unison, during the crime awareness campaign that was held at the village’s royal house on Sunday morning.

Capt Mbulaheni Phalanndwa of the Thohoyandou SAPS told the fully packed Khoro that crime can only be defeated with the assistance of the community. He said the police alone would never win because they depended on information supplied by members of the community. "We are impressed by the large number of people who attended this crime awareness campaign today. This clearly indicates that community members are eager to work with the police in the war against crime. It needs our collective efforts to defeat crime and it is a war that we must fight on a daily basis. We must say no to crime because it is against the law."

Phalanndwa urged community members to report any criminal activities to the police. "If you don’t report the criminals, it means you are collaborating with them. Criminals must be removed from the community because they deserve to be locked up behind bars."

He said Mukula village is plagued by crimes such as stock theft, arson, house breaking and illegal gambling. "Most of the crimes are caused by the late closure of liquor outlets and the harbouring of illegal immigrants. However, we are happy because we are slowly winning the war against all these crimes."

The village’s traditional leader, Khosi Vho-Mphathele Takalani, said the crime awareness campaign was an eye-opener to his community. "We will obviously strengthen our relationship with the police to make Mukula a better place to stay."