Al-Qalam 
Community leaders met with Police Minister Bheki Cele to demand urgent action following the killing of a Cape Town businessman by kidnappers and separately the murder of a teenage girl, writes Nabeelah Shaikh.
The Muslim Judicial Council, along with the inter-faith community, civil society and community activists are calling for action against the rising number of kidnapping cases in the Western Cape.
Last week, they met with Police Minister Bheki Cele and senior SAPS management to hand over a memorandum in which they raised concerns regarding the steep increase of major crimes in the province.
The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis and Western Cape Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, J P Smith, were also in attendance.
The murders of Cape Town businessman, Khalid Parker and Hanover Park teenager, Jehaan Petersen, were among the cases raised at the meeting.
Parker, 41, was shot dead in Lansdowne on September 9. He was killed by three unknown suspects outside his business premises in a foiled kidnapping. Parker suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head. In the other case, 17-year-old Jehaan Petersen’s body was discovered in an open field in Hanover Park, on September 11, after she had been reported missing two weeks prior.
The Police Ministry confirmed that they are investigating 32 cases of kidnapping in the Western Cape which occurred between March and September 2022.
Ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, said 15 kidnapping suspects have been arrested so far, including five suspects who recently appeared at the Wynberg Magistrates court, charged with conspiracy to commit a kidnapping.
The meeting called for closer and more effective collaboration between the various sectors of government, security and the prosecution authority to ensure a higher percentage of convictions and stiffer penalties for convicted criminals.
MJC’s first deputy president, Sheikh Riyaad Fataar, said there was a great sense of fear among the community.
“Our community is scared. Our community is worried. There are families that are crying. We are scared and we see the increase in crime and we see the complaints from our communities. We need to have prevention programmes that are happening. We need to empower our neighbourhood watches. We need to look at youth development much more seriously. Why are the political parties so silent?” Fataar questioned at the meeting.
He told the Police Minister that it was evident that criminals did not fear authorities.
“The criminals do not fear you. They show us that they don’t fear anyone, so that’s why we say crack the whip. This is a united appeal on behalf of the Western Cape and the rest of SA. Make sure we are protected,” urged Fataar.
The family of 69-year-old businessman, Ismail Rajah, also addressed the Police Minister.
Rajah was kidnapped earlier this year. He spent 111 days in captivity and was rescued at a house in Khayelitsha in June when police made a breakthrough, almost four months after he was snatched by AK-47-wielding kidnappers outside his Parow business.
Generals
Raziek Rajah, Ismail’s son, said police needed to be realistic about the situation and he took the opportunity to dispel rumours that exist around the spate of kidnappings.
“There have been former Generals from the police that have taken to the media to say that families did this because of insurance. There isn’t a single family in the Western Cape that had insurance when their family members were taken,” said Rajah.
He said police had the resources to fight the kidnappings, but it seems they don’t have the political will to resolve the issue.
“Police are offering rewards for buses that have been burnt yet there have been kidnappings happening in Cape Town for the last six years. I don’t find that fair. Kidnappings are one of the worst crimes that are continuing,” said Rajah.
The memorandum submitted by the parties includes several questions which the committee is demanding answers to, by latest 22 September. Some of the questions include whether the anti-kidnapping unit in Cape Town is under-resourced and managed by only three officers.
Police have also been asked to provide answers on what has happened to all the cases of kidnappings in the Western Cape, over the last six years – and whether or not they have a solution for the ongoing kidnapping crisis in the province.
Responding to the concerns, Cele committed himself to working closer with the faith committee and the Western Cape government to address the crime in the region.
“We are taking this seriously. We are working on some suggestions made. The police are not as resourced as they are made out to be. We are down by 20 000 officers, compared to 12 years ago in 2010. But we are working on that. Coordination, cooperation and working together, will give us one result,” said Cele.
The Minister also called upon the committee to hold him and the various sectors of government and security accountable for delivering on their commitments.
The Minister and his team, Safety and Security in the Western Cape, including the National Prosecuting Authority, have been given seven days to revert back to the committee regarding the issues raised in the memorandum.
