Villagers from Dorset in Somabhula district are walking for more than 30km to report cases to the police, a situation that is affecting the justice delivery system in the rural set-up, NewsDay Weekender has established.
By Stephen Chadenga
The villagers said there were many cases of violence particularly from illegal gold panners who throng the area in search of the rich mineral.
Youths in the village have since mobilised resources to construct a police post at Dorset business centre.
“We have many violent cases among illegal gold panners which go unreported because the nearest Somabhula police post is 33km away,” Mehluli Ndlovu said.
“Some of us have lost hope and at times we just choose to ignore reporting criminal cases.”
Martha Mamombe, aged 33, said at times they resort to taking the law into their own hands as reporting to law enforcement agents was a big challenge given the distance to the nearest police centre.
She said most cases particularly of sudden death go unreported with villagers resorting to burials without following proper procedures.
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“When I discovered the person who had stolen my goat I threatened him with unspecified action until he repaid,” she said.
“I know the proper procedure would have been to report him to the police, but given the distance, which will total more than 60km since transport is also a challenge in the area, I resorted to plan B.”
Mamombe hailed youths in the area who have mobilised resources to construct a police post. The project to construct a police post was started in 2014, but its completion is being hindered by lack of resources.
Acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende was not available for comment on the challenges the villagers are facing.
