Hout Bay foreigners threatened

Cape Town - Foreigners who went on a manhunt for killers of a Congolese man in Hout Bay are now allegedly being threatened by a gang of “young criminals”.

The gang have been terrorising the community of Imizamo Yethu, where 27-year-old Nchikala Ngoy was robbed and murdered.

Ngoy moved from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to South Africa a year ago and had been studying business economics.

Three men robbed Ngoy on his way home from Hout Bay Library on Wednesday last week.

He was stabbed eight times in the back and head and left for dead in Main Road just metres from the police station.

A 25-year-old man, believed to be Malawian, and an 18-year-old were also stabbed to death in Imizamo Yethu last month.

The incidents left foreigners in the area seething and a group were seen storming through the informal settlement looking for Ngoy’s killers on Thursday.

Zimbabweans, Ghanaians, Malawians, Ugandans, Angolans and Congolese swept through the area, beating up an 18-year-old before handing him over to police.

Geoffrey Kavuma, 29, a Ugandan who spoke on behalf of the foreigners, said on Saturday that members of the local gang had threatened to attack the foreigners who had gone on a manhunt last week.

“They told us they will come looking for us and that they were trying to find out where we live.

“Everything is fine with the locals here, but it’s just these thugs who are targeting us,” he said.

Ngoy’s brother Valery told the Cape Times that the “young thugs” were being protected by their families.

He said the gang targeted locals and foreigners, but that locals do not get stabbed or injured because the gangsters feared being necklaced.

Imizamo Yethu Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chairperson Vincent Sodlala said the CPF was aware of a gang of under-18s in the area.

“I can imagine that these young criminals have now made threats. They are minors who need help because they are addicted to drugs and have now turned to crime.

“The drugs, their rehabilitation and the social issues here need to be addressed,” Sodlala said.

Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato visited the community on Friday.

“We all need to ask ourselves what we, individually, can do to help make my own immediate environment safer. I urge our communities to use the available structures like the neighbourhood watches and the community policing forums,” he said.

Police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana said three men “aged between 18 and 19” are to appear in court on Monday on murder charges.

* UCT has pointed out that Nchikala Ngoy was not a student there as reported, but his family insists he was

carlo.petersen@inl.co.za

- Cape Times

Foreigners hunt killers in Hout Bay

Cape Town - A group of foreigners went on a manhunt in Hout Bay on Thursday, storming through the streets of Imizamo Yethu informal settlement as they sought the killers of a Congolese man.

Nchikala Ngoy, 23, was stabbed eight times in the back and head after being robbed on his way home from Hout Bay Library on Wednesday evening.

The UCT student – who left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for South Africa a year ago – had been studying and was on his way back to his shack in Imizamo Yethu.

Ngoy was killed close to “The White House”, a derelict, city-owned building residents say harbours criminals. The area around the building is a crime hot spot. The Hout Bay Civic Association (HBCA) has been asking the city to deal with the building since 2011, by either demolishing it or putting it to good use.

The association’s secretary, Roscoe Jacobs, said the city was aiding and abetting crime by failing to deal with its own problem building.

When the Cape Times visited the area on Thursday, residents were gathering at the Hout Bay police station, where they had handed over a man suspected of being involved in another murder. The man, accused of murdering a Malawian man two weeks ago, was badly beaten up.

Imizamo Yethu residents in Hout Bay joined foreigners on their manhunt on Thursday. Picture: Brenton GeachCAPE TIMES

Police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana could not confirm any arrests on Thursday, saying reports of xenophobia and mob justice were “unconfirmed”.

“A case of murder has been opened and three suspects are being sought. The motive appears to be robbery as a cellphone was stolen,” he said.

Ngoy’s brother Valery said the mob consisted of Congolese, Zimbabweans, Ghanaians, Malawians, Ugandans and Angolans, who came together on Thursday after being continuously “targeted for crime”.

He said a group of young men, who were known criminals in the community, were being protected by their families. “They get arrested and then come back shortly afterwards because they are juveniles. We know who they are.

“The locals get robbed too, but they don’t get stabbed or injured. The robbers fear the reaction from their people will be worse. They know they will be necklaced,” Valery said.

“The locals are fine with us, it’s the thugs who are a problem. This is a crime issue, but their families also support them so it’s difficult to say whether this is xenophobia.”

The Cape Times witnessed the group sweep through the area, venting their anger while residents looked on.

Police said another suspect had been arrested and that others had allegedly handed themselves over after fearing for their lives.

Jacobs condemned the city on Thursday, saying its failure to demolish the White House was aiding crime.

“It is the view of the HBCA that the city has failed to apply the very ‘broken windows’ theory it teaches to neighbourhood watches.

“The success of this theory is to fix the problems when they are still small and the city has failed to do this.

“The community, led by the Community Policing Forum, has been calling for this house to fall since 2011,” Jacobs said.

Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said metro police and law enforcement were aware of the problem and were patrolling the area.

The city’s Problem Building Unit was dealing with over 1 900 buildings and had concluded more than 5 000 complaints, with many successes. “There are many crime hot spots in every ward,” Smith said.

He said the building would soon be boarded up before possibly being demolished.

carlo.petersen@inl.co.za

- Cape Times