Life in Jukulyn – where ambulances, courier services, e-hailing taxis and even pizza deliveries are a no-go

No services can be rendered in Jukulyn, an area in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, without a police escort.

Crime syndicates have resulted in emergency services and other municipal service providers having to be escorted by police to access the area and courier companies withdrawing their door-to-door service, opting to make the police station their drop-off point.

Four people, including a 14-year-old girl and her police officer uncle, were killed an hour into the new year in the area.

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko on Tuesday visited the family and called for swift action to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book.

“We said to the police they must leave no stone unturned. As I have indicated, these kind of incidents are happening frequently in this area. So whatever resources are needed, I have asked the MEC to make those resources available so that we can finally crack this matter. The police gave me statistics of crime-related incidents in this area, I must be honest, the numbers are shocking,” Lesufi said.

He revealed police in the area are working on 331 active cases.

“To have almost 331 cases in this area alone is an indication that we need to completely overhaul how we are policing this community.

“I am told there is a popular case here where people advertise the sale of cars online through Facebook and when people come here carrying cash to buy those cars they pounce on those people. Police have given me a breakdown of almost 118 people that they have arrested related to some of those cases. Other cases are related to drugs and illegal weapons,” Lesufi said.

Velaphi Khoza, the regional chairperson of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), said Jukulyn is the most  dangerous part of Soshanguve.

“Monthly we get shootings and delivery vehicles are unable to come to this area, even the emergency vehicles. Ambulances are unable to come and assist people. If they need to come, they need an escort from the police because when they come alone they get robbed of their belongings.

“When you have bought something online, the [drivers] must get escorted or you must go and get your things at the police station. You cannot even order a pizza for delivery, you must go and buy it. You cannot even request Bolt or Uber services.

He said life was difficult because of the crime. Municipal workers are not able to conduct repairs without a police escort.

He referenced an incident last year where IEC staff were robbed at a school in Block X during voter registration.

“The crime rate is high. I think even the minister knows about the area," said Khoza. He said Sanco has requested a satellite police station to ensure high police visibility in the area. "[While] we are still waiting for that, I think the government could deploy soldiers to do patrols because this area is dangerous,” he said.

Khoza, who is a resident of the notorious area, said people coming into the section get mugged, hijacked and robbed.

Khoza said most crimes are committed using high-calibre weapons, which indicates there are a lot of unlicensed firearms in the area. Most people are killed by rifles.

Khoza said the area was once a safe place until the community started benefiting from municipal projects.

He alleged construction mafias have infiltrated the area.

“There were a lot of projects in the area. Some community thugs were fighting for those projects, now its an ongoing thing but the projects have stopped,” he said.

Reacting to the recent shooting, EFF Tshwane regional chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu said Soshanguve and its surrounds have witnessed several horrifying events in recent years.

“In May and July of 2022, mass shootings in Soshanguve and Garankuwa respectively resulted in four fatalities and multiple injuries. The recurring nature of these mass shootings in Jukulyn cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence, but rather as an indictment of the ineffectiveness of community safety programs and policing in the area,” he said.

In 2022, the legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety received reports on recurrent crimes including murders, car hijacking, business robberies, common assault and gender-based violence — with some parts of Jukulyn section being declared “no-go” areas for residents and police.

The committee called for a “shift in control measures, and a more innovative approach for proactive crime prevention” and said it would liaise with police to propose the deployment of a SAPS tactical response team, increased police visibility with stop and search operations, co-operation with community crime intelligence networks and strict enforcement of by-laws on spaza shops and liquor establishments.

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