The AfriForum neighbourhood watch in Musina arrested a burglar in the early hours of Sunday morning 21 March.
The neighbourhood watch received an emergency phone call at approximately 01:00 regarding a burglary. The suspect was already half-length through the burglar bars when the occupant’s dog saw him and started barking. The occupant immediately contacted the neighbourhood watch.
Neighbourhood watch members reacted immediately to the occupant’s cry of distress. The property was densely bushy and the neighbourhood watch worked systematically to search the premises. The neighbourhood watch managed to corner the suspect on the premises and arrested him. The suspect was handed over to the police and the neighbourhood watch assisted the victim with submitting a charge.
Kobus Boshoff, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Musina branch, encourages communities to take responsibility for their own safety. “Join your nearest AfriForum neighbourhood watch or establish a neighbourhood watch if there isn’t one yet in your area. AfriForum’s Musina neighbourhood watch is a neighbourhood watch that was established recently, but already we are seeing the results. It is volunteers working together in an organised and disciplined manner.”
“A community that has a neighbourhood watch that is prepared and can be contacted at 01:00 in the morning for assistance, is a community that has the chance to exist peacefully. The way we build successful networks with our neighbours will determine whether we will still be living in a town in ten years’ time. AfriForum’s Musina branch is showing us that it can be done,” says Andries Opperman, AfriForum’s Safety Coordinator for Limpopo.
Join AfriForum’s Musina neighbourhood watch today: Download the Telegram app and search for @AfriForumBuurtBot (https://t.me/AfriForumBuurtBot).