Kensington residents have written letters to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) about a spate of robberies at the Century City station.
According to them, at least five people are robbed every day, and when the schools are open, children lose their cellphones to criminals.
Community police forum deputy chairperson Jameelah Liedemaan says they’ve also approached the national Transport Department.
“We have had one successful arrest but there are others. “People who work at Canal Walk come home after 9pm, they need to feel safe.”
Ward 56 councillor Cheslyn Steenberg says they had a meeting with the regional manager of Prasa and promises were made.
“It has been a year now and nothing has happened. While we understand the infrastructure belongs to Prasa I’m of the opinion the City too can play a role in the form of Law Enforcement, Metro Police etc.
“People have opened cases and some have not because they don’t trust the police. We are not saying there aren’t guards but people are still robbed because the lights are off.
“Half of the lights aren’t working and when they are fixed they are off again about 12 hours later, so there is sabotage.
“There are also overgrown trees which robbers use to hide.”
“In Maitiland the residents said they are robbed even though the security is there, they say they're there to guard the infrastructure and not people.
“We need this to be sorted otherwise we are going to take this to court so they can be forced to take responsibility,” says
In response, Prasa spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi said actions were undertaken to address the vagrants from Century City to Oosterzee.
“Our regional Protection Services department (Vagrants Unit) has regular stakeholder engagement meetings with local stakeholders such as the Kensington Neighbourhood Watch, Law Enforcement, and Kensington SAPS.
“The first meeting was held on May 9, 2024, where a joint action was arranged. Together with the stakeholders mentioned, a joint action was conducted on June 8 and 9, 2024, to address the complaint that was forwarded by the Oosterzee community.
“During the action, three vagrants were removed by the PRASA Western Cape team, Transnet, and Sinqobile Security Services. Another operation was conducted from June 11 to June 14, 2024, at 6pm, where the Vagrants Unit patrolled from Oosterzee to Century City, with no vagrants in sight in the area and no incidents reported,” Mihi said.
Mihi further added that security teams conduct daily patrols on the line between Cape Town and Oosterzee. “We will ensure that we have static deployment at the station and that the security vehicle will be static during peak periods to avert any criminal activities at Century City station.
“We will further have a vehicle deployed on the Kentemade line,” she said.
Mihi further requested that communities assist in reporting robberies, as they do not have records of any incidents of this nature in the area under discussion.