[VIDEO] ‘Gatvol of kidnappings’: Religious mense want ‘whip’ cracked on crime
|Published
LISTEN UP: Geordin Hill-Lewis, Bheki Cele and JP. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane
Religious leaders innie Kaap say they are gatvol of the ongoing kidnappings which has see high-profile business people being held in captivity, tortured and killed.
On Thursday, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) along with several interfaith groups had a meeting with Police Minister Bheki Cele, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Saps top brass to discuss an action plan for the ongoing kidnappings, which in one instance led to the death of Lansdowne businessman Khalid Parker, 40, last Friday.
Addressing the meeting, MJC second deputy president Sheik Riad Fataar, said Kapenaars were living in fear while criminals do not fear the police, or being arrested.
“Capetonians are living in fear. When I open my garage door in the morning for fajr [prayers] I don’t know if someone is waiting on the other side,” he said.
“So I am going to use the words our communities are using. This community of the Western Cape, they are gatvol. This community is gatvol.
“We held off protest marches and violent actions that people had in mind and said let us speak to the leadership.
“Please crack the whip for you have it in your hands. The criminals do not fear you.
“They don’t even fear the repercussions of that. They show us they don’t fear anyone,” Fataar added.
The room fell silent as Raziq Rajah, the son of businessman Ismail Rajah who was kidnapped and rescued earlier this year, addressed authorities.
He said speaking publicly was not an easy decision as the family had been through a traumatic time after his dad was kept in captivity for 111 days.
Raziq says they had good and bad experiences with cops investigating his ou’s case but refuted rumours about kidnap insurance fraud, as well as claims by mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, that victims are targeted because of social media.
“Saps has the resources, it may be displaced in certain units but they’ve got the resources,” he said.
“I also want to dispel the rumours. Let’s stop soft soaping things.
“There have been former generals of the police that have gone onto eNCA and to radio stations saying families did this because of insurance.
“There isn’t a single family in the Western Cape that had kidnapping insurance when their family member was taken,” Raziq added.
“It has nothing to do with social media. None of the people that have been kidnapped are socialites on social media.”
Anti-crime activist Hanief Loonat shocked the crowd when he claimed that a reliable source had told them that Parker’s kidnappers had in fact been caught but were released by police.
“A trusted source has brought to our attention that an arrest was made in connection with Khalid Parker, and these individuals were handed over to the investigating team and then released the next day,” said Loonat.
“And we can confirm to you today that we have been presented with evidence from this reliable source that they know who the syndicate is.”
Hill-Lewis explained that the municipality had been scraping together as much funds as possible to address crime in the city but only Saps Crime Intelligence had the legal mandate to intercept calls and trace bank accounts of alleged kidnappers.
In response, Cele said that he would be pursuing some of the issues raised and called for all components of the justice system to work together.
The religious groups also handed over a petition asking for answers within seven days.