Over 600 pupils and their parents marched to Belhar Police Station on Friday, calling for an end to the bloodshed after three young people were killed in less than a week.
Dressed in their school uniforms and armed with posters, pupils and parents from Excelsior, Belhar, Symphony and Perseverance high schools handed over a memorandum to cops at Belhar Police Station.
The memorandum calls for more visible police patrols, random police searches at schools, and less corruption.
Pupils, ouers
The march took place just a week after Excelsior High School Grade 11 pupil, Reywen Williams, 18, was shot and killed while walking to a tuckshop near Ukuele Street with his cousin.
A day later, another 18-year-old was murdered.
Fighting back tears, Reywen's distraught mother, Juanita Williams, says her son and his cousin were approached by a group of men who were looking for another person.
Over 600 pupils and their parents marched to Belhar Police Station. Picture supplied
“When they were at the park, three men stopped and asked them if they saw someone named Dulla and they said no.
“Reywen walked on and that was when his cousin saw one of the men taking out a firearm.
“This person began to shoot. Reywen was shot in the face.
“My child loved soccer and his community. I am grateful for the support of everyone.”
Kalib Missoe, 20, a pupil at Bellville Technical High School, who lives in Belhar, says they want metal detectors at schools.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, confirms the memorandum had been received.
He did not say whether police would be responding to the children’s demands.
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za
