Byline: Andani Matumba
27 October 2022
Emzinoni/Bethal was known as a emazambaneni and was filled by community members who loved and protected one
another, but that has since changed over the years as now the town is known for some of the most gruesome crimes across Mpumalanga Province.
Emzinoni Police Station hosted a community Imbizo in fight against the increasing crime rate across Bethal and Emzinoni on Thursday, 13 October 2022.
The event became a success through the collaboration of the SAPS, Department of Correctional Services, Department of Social Development, Child Line and the National Prosecution Authority.
According to Stg Cynthia Mtsweni, the mandate of the event was to bring all stakeholders under one roof to discuss how the key
departments can work together with community members in curbing the crime rate which has been on the rise over the previous years.
Stg Mtsweni said that 80 percent of the crimes which are reported at Emzinoni are gender based violence crimes with victims mainly being women and children.
“The police also experience a lot of issues when they have to apprehend the perpetrators because community members protect them,” added Mtsweni.
The NPA also referred to some brutal incidents where community members tried to protect the perpetrators such as a recent case which occurred in September wherein a young man allegedly raped and killed his grandmother and another one where a man killed his wife and the members of the wives family.
They further acknowledged that most matters which have been referred to the courts in Bethal within the last three months have been GBV related with the most common being rape.
