The residents in Rustenburg are concerned about the rising number of cases in which houses are being illegally occupied. Residential areas, such as Protea Park, East End and Geelhout Park, are apparently targeted because there are a number of vacant houses that belong to mining companies.
The FF Plus already knows of five confirmed cases where houses are being illegally occupied.
Attempts to occupy houses illegally have also increased significantly since the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented. These illegal occupations are obviously orchestrated as they are characterised by groups of people arriving in taxis, bakkies and cars and then these people use violence to try and gain entry to the property.
In the most recent incident, which was captured on video, one can clearly see a security guard from Hencor Security and his dog being attacked with ladders and bricks by a group of people who arrived at a house in Suikerbos Avenue, Protea Park, in six different vehicles. According to reports by residents living in the street, the police was contacted for assistance but only arrived at the scene more than an hour later. The guard was forced to depart from the scene for his own safety and after that, the group of illegal occupants proceeded to threaten the residents and they also manoeuvred their vehicles toward bystanders in an attempt to intimidate them.
The FF Plus contacted the Rustenburg Local Municipality's division for Public Safety and demanded that these incidences must be thoroughly investigated and that precautionary measures must be implemented to protect residents and their property. The Municipality has undertaken to cooperate with the police to increase crime prevention operations in the relevant residential areas.
The FF Plus considers these events extremely alarming and the party is calling on the authorities on all levels of government to ensure that law-abiding residents are not subjected to the criminal and barbaric actions of opportunist elements in society.
The police must consider the investigation of these transgressions as top priority and must ensure that the offenders are duly prosecuted.
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