Three violent deaths in 3 weeks

Update

GEORGE NEWS - After the third violent death in three weeks in August, safety has become a major concern for residents of Rosemoor.

In the latest incident a Rosemoor local, Angelo 'Pokkel' Potts (23), was stabbed to death in front of his home in Canary Street in the early morning of Saturday 31 August.

According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies, two minors, aged 15 and 17, were later arrested in connection with Potts' murder. Spies said the circumstances and motive behind the killing are being investigated. They appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Monday 2 September.

Details about their court appearance could not be confirmed yet. George Herald will update these details on our website once received.

"Reports available at this stage indicate that police were dispatched to the scene at about 08:45 following a complaint of a stabbing. On arrival, they found the man with a stab wound to the chest. He was declared dead by paramedics on the scene," said Spies.

His family, who is still riddled with shock, describes Potts as a quiet man who cared deeply for his two-year-old son.

"After the birth of his son, he became quieter. He was always helping in the kitchen, cleaning and cooking and faffing over his boy. His son meant everything to him. He was the youngest, with three sisters, and would protect us with his life," said his sister, Caroldene Potts.

According to unconfirmed information, it is believed that Potts was called outside by an unknown number of suspects shortly before he was stabbed. "He only had enough time to go back into the house and call for help before he died in his mother's arms," said a resident.

Previous deaths

Potts's death follows two recent deaths in the same area. On Sunday 11 August, the 27-year-old Linden Sysaar was stabbed to death in O'Connell Street and a week later Serano 'Boya' Williams (20) was shot and killed after chaos erupted between a group of people and a Fidelity ADT security guard during Sysaar's after-tears event in the same street.

On Tuesday 27 August the murder suspect in Sysaar's case, Chad Windvogel, who was arrested on the Tuesday after the incident, was released on bail of R5 000 under strict bail conditions, and on Monday 2 September Fidelity ADT security guard Lindokihle Fetile, who was arrested for Williams' murder, was also released on R5 000 bail.

Police presence

Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said Conville's station management expressed their concern with the prevalence of violent crime in their precinct, and have already implemented projects and programmes in conjunction with the community policing structures such as the CPF, neighbourhood watches and private security companies to fight the battle on their hands.

A culture of violent crime

In the meantime, the latest crime statistics for the first quarter of 2024 (April to June) have been released by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and it seems we are living in the grip of a violent crime epidemic.

A staggering 27 203 contact crimes (murder, sexual offences and assault) were reported in the province during the first quarter of 2024.

At home, while there has been a slight decrease in murders recorded across the George, Pacaltsdorp, Conville, and Thembalethu police stations - from 28 cases in the same period last year to 18 this year - the levels of violence are disturbing.

With seven fewer murder cases than in the first quarter of last year, Thembalethu recorded 12 murders. George also reported a decrease from three last year to none this year, and Pacaltsdorp had two less than the five of last year. In Conville however, three murders were reported compared with last year's one.

In George alone, 51 rapes and 209 cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) were reported in just three months. Thembalethu saw 20 rape cases, Conville 12, George 11, and Pacaltsdorp eight.

Robbery with aggravating circumstances, while still high, showed a decrease from 124 cases last year to 111 this year across all four police stations. On a positive note, 82 more drug-related crimes were detected due to police action.

Across the province, however, almost 10 000 more contact crimes were reported than in the first quarter of 2020, when 16 314 cases were reported over the same period.

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