On 25 October 2018 the AfriForum911 division of the civil rights organisation AfriForum assisted with the arrest of a suspect in Kathu through the use of the AfriForum911 TrackBox smartphone application. The individual was arrested for the theft of a motor vehicle and was later identified by the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a wanted suspect in robbery and rape cases.
At about 14:30 a local AfriForum member reported a suspicious red Jeep Cherokee to the control room through the application and, upon investigation, the control room operator informed him that the vehicle’s number plates in fact belonged to a blue BMW. Upon further investigation, the information on the license disc was also checked and matched to a red Volkswagen Golf. By that time, the member had already contacted various local security role-players and the local police station, who joined the effort. One suspect was eventually arrested. The vehicle was found to have been hijacked in Mahikeng on 19 October 2018.
It was later confirmed that the suspect was wanted in several other cases, including rape and robbery. He is also suspected to be part of a larger car theft syndicate.
“This once again proves the usefulness of the AfriForum911 TrackBox application and the support that AfriForum can render to its members through AfriForum911. We therefore encourage our members to download the app and use it when in danger or when they have anything suspicious to report,” says Johandré van Zyl, AfriForum Community Safety’s Regional Head for the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape.
AfriForum members and members of the public are encouraged to visit www.afriforum911.co.za to find out more about the AfriForum911 TrackBox application and the support that AfriForum911 can render to them.