Kasi behind a fence: Rise in gated communities in townships as crime hits hard

Thembisa township, east of Johannesburg, is slowly becoming a series of gated communities, with more parts of it having controlled access due to the rise in crime.  

According to the latest crime statistics, Thembisa police station had the third highest number of cases of residential robberies in the country.

The station also had 145 reported cases of trio crimes, which include robbery at residential and non-residential premises and violent theft of motor vehicles, during last October-November. The station also featured in the top 30 nationally with the highest number of cases of murder.  

Thembisa residents told TimesLIVE they have had enough of crime and have resorted to installing boom gates.  

One of them, Tokologo Tshikungulu, said crime was unbearable in the area, with parents fearing for the safety of their children after an increase in children being kidnapped and later found mutilated. 

“In Thembisa children go missing while playing near their homes and get killed. I always cry when I see in community groups reports of mutilated children. As a parent, I try to educate my children about safety, but criminals always find ways to trick our young children. I believe having boom gates and security would make our area safer for our children,” she said. 

Five-year-old Ofentse Poopedi was killed last August after being kidnapped from Ivory Park, near Thembisa.

Tshikungulu lives in Winnie Mandela, part of the township that does not have gates.   

“A few days ago, my neighbours and I were standing on the street at about 4pm and criminals robbed the Somalian shop a few metres away from us. After the robbery, we saw the car reversing into the street near us with a man holding a gun. Luckily there were police around and he was arrested within a few minutes.  

“Many people think installing the gates is for the suburbs, but we also need security because these criminals have easy access to our homes and always escape,” she said.  

The general worker said most of the residents in her street were at work during the day and criminals took advantage of this.  

“This is happening everywhere. On social media we always see videos of the house break-ins, with the criminals not fearing killing whoever they find in the home. I believe we do not have to rely on the government to install gates. The government does not always consider these initiatives. This time, I hope they will hear our cry for safety.”  

Ivory Park police station, which is 5km from Thembisa police station, records many contact crimes, which include murder, attempted murder and sexual offences.  

Johnny Tsotetsi, who owns R&J community security company with his business partner Richard Khanyile, told TimesLIVE that many residents from Ivory Park, Ebony Park and Thembisa were enquiring about security services in recent months.  

Tsotetsi said most subsections of Ebony Park had gates and security officers at entry points.  

“We are regulated by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority [PSiRA] and offer the communities security personnel services. The guards control who has access. We also install cameras at key points and the households have access to the footage, but this depends on the package the community wants,” he said.  

Tsotetsi has worked in the security industry for 22 years and started the company in Ebony Park after seeing many people complaining about crime. He said he has seen an improvement in safety after the installation of gates, which was a community initiative discussed with community leaders.

The installation costs about R6,000-R7,000 and the costs are split among the households, he said.  

“For the security services it can cost about R12,000 per month, but it depends on the number of houses in the block. I live in one of the gated communities and in our area we have not had problems with the municipality because before people raised funds for installation of the gates, they spoke to community leaders first.”

A resident from Ebony Park said they were paying R250 a month for security services. Other people on social media said each household in their gated community was paying about R50. The prices differ based on the service offered and the number of houses. 

There have been debates on social media about whether those who install the gates without municipal approval are breaking any laws.  

Ekurhuleni municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said it was against the metro’s bylaws to install gates without municipal approval. He said while community members may apply to have gated communities, there was no guarantee that all applications would be approved. 

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.