The community of Mukula, outside Thohoyandou, is fed up with crime.

This was evident during an emotional meeting was held at the local Mukula Royal Palace at the weekend.

The meeting was called to discuss the killing of people in the area, with no suspects being arrested for the crimes. Tempers flared during the meeting, with community members baying for the blood of those mentioned as linked to the crimes and for the immediate arrest of the suspects.

The meeting was characterized by emotional outbursts, with community members pointing an accusing finger to the police and claiming that they were doing nothing about crime in the village.

The chairperson of the Royal Council at Mukula, Mr Shumani Tshisevhe, said it became necessary to hold such a meeting in order to give the community the opportunity to voice their concerns to the police. “We want the people to speak out. Some of the community members have information about the crimes that have been committed in the area and are afraid to give evidence to the police. This is a suitable platform for them to speak freely,” he said.

Tshisevhe added that more than ten cases had occurred in the area since 2001 and, in most of them, suspects are known by the community, but nothing has been done about them. “We want all those cases revisited and opened and see if no suspects could be put before the courts in order to stand trial,” he said.

The local traditional leader, Musanda Vho-Mphathele Takalani, called on all his subjects to speak out on criminality. “So much crime is happening in the area and we do not even have an idea as to who is behind all this criminality. What has gone wrong in our village?” he asked.

Takalani said it was clear that no person from another village could just come and commit crime in the area without the assistance of a local person. “Criminals live amongst us here in the village and it is up to us to expose them and to flush them from our midst,” he said.