Mobile Satellite Police Station in Site C

Khayelitsha Site C, Solomon Tshuku Avenue, Cape Town, South Africa

The nearest police station for Site C residents is situated in Site B, some three kilometres away.

But the mobile station does nothing to prevent crime in the area, say Site C residents, as rather than operating around the clock, it is locked up at night, when most crime is committed.

It closes at 5pm on weekdays, at the same time the plaza closes, and at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. So, residents are also not protected during the crime-ridden weekend hours and remain scared to venture out after dark.

Site C resident Thabisa Mondi said she was robbed on 20 September while on her way to work in the early morning.

Mondi said she tried to report the case at the mobile police station but the caravan which served as the office was not there. Instead, a policeman was sitting inside a van parked at the venue.

She said he told her she needed to come back the next day if she wanted to open a case.

When she returned the next day, she said the officer in charge told her there was nothing they could do and she should just phone her cellphone service provider and block the number on her stolen phone. This was despite telling the police officer she knew the identity of the man who robbed her.

Provincial police spokerson, Noloyiso Rwexana, said the mobile unit allocated to Site C is in for repairs as it has a mechanical fault.

Rwexana said a mobile kiosk manned by two police officials was in its place and “more than two vehicles are servicing the area”.

She recommended Mondi approach the Site B police station commander with her complaint so that the matter could be investigated.

She did not respond to questions as to why the mobile station at Site C did not operate around the clock as promised by the deputy police minister.