Pupils mugged outside school

Durban High School pupils are keeping a weary eye out for thugs on their way to and from school after a spate of muggings.

Durban - Durban High School pupils have learnt to be on the lookout out for thugs when they walk to and from the school after a spate of muggings in the area.

The is one of the issues on the agenda of the next Save Our Berea meeting which will be held at St Thomas’ Church Hall in Musgrave next Tuesday evening.

Save Our Berea spokeswoman Cheryl Johnson said the organisation, which aims to restore the Berea to its former glory, had been reliably informed of 20 muggings around the school and of hijackings in Stephen Dlamini (Essenwood) Road in the past week.

“Nobody should feel unsafe in their homes. Schoolchildren should be able to walk to school, but it is not safe to walk anywhere on the Berea. Residents now even feel unsafe in secured homes,” she said.

Johnson said Save Our Berea was approached by a father whose son went to DHS and was mugged on his way to school. The son had also helped a girl who was being mugged in the vicinity.

“It seems to us that they are targeting schoolchildren because they know they have cellphones,” she said.

Johnson said they sent a report to the eThekwini Municipality and it was passed on to Berea police. She said police questioned the statistics and said they did not have similar numbers.

Police spokesman Thulani Zwane told The Mercury they were not allowed to release crime statistics to the media.

“People do not feel comfortable going to report crimes because they are not treated properly,” Johnson said.

“This is one of the issues we want to discuss at our meeting.”

When DHS was approached for comment, the school said it was aware of the mugging issue in the area. It had had reports in the past, but it had not been alerted to any incidents recently.

Johnson said the recent murder of a Musgrave woman, Shakila Singh, in a secure complex had caused some Berea residents to feel miserable and unsafe.

“That thugs can invade a person’s home in broad daylight shows that crime is now spiralling out of control. Crime support groups report daily on the numerous instances of housebreaking, car theft and attempted break-ins. Women motorists are harassed daily at traffic lights by aggressive beggars. People are demanding action,” she said.

sphelele.ngubane@inl.co.za

@sphengubane

The Mercury