POLICE confirmed to the Saturday Dispatch yesterday that they were considering the possibility that the attack on Dali Mpofu was politically motivated.
There is also a plethora of other theories doing the rounds about why he was in such a remote place all by himself.
But the sad reality is that Mpofu, an advocate representing miners and their families at the commission of inquiry into the Marikana shooting, probably was just the latest victim of the opportunistic crime that is spoiling East London’s reputation as a leisure venue.
The walk eastwards from Eastern Beach has been a favourite for generations among people seeking solitude and an opportunity for quiet contemplation. Like most of this region’s remote beaches, however, the common wisdom now is that it is no longer safe for people walking alone or in small groups.
In the city’s wealthier suburbs, electric fencing is sprouting where hedges once grew as more and more of those who can afford it, retreat behind barriers once associated only with Johannesburg.
Men and women setting out into Oxford Street are learning to remove neck-chains and earrings to escape the wave of snatch-and-run robberies this newspaper has had to report this year.
It is easy to blame poor policing – indeed it would be comforting to see more officers out on patrol – but the scourge of crime has many origins and it will take a multi-faceted attack on many fronts to stop it.
Closed circuit television cameras have been used to good effect around the world and could help to curb petty crime in many parts of the Buffalo City Metro area. Cape Town has brought petty crime down to a fraction of its level a few years ago with the help of cameras in the city.
They are useless if they are not constantly monitored by suitably trained people and backed by police ready to move at a moment’s notice. They are a deterrent only when word has spread about arrests made because of them.
On beaches and walking trails and in parks, however, there is much less that can be done to protect occasional visitors like Dali Mpofu.
Being alone in remote places will be safe again only when South Africa rebuilds its moral core.
And that will only happen when we accept as a nation that morality includes a home, the prospect of a job and the guarantee of a minimum standard of human dignity for each and every citizen.
For as long as the majority remain trapped in hopeless poverty and forced to watch those advantaged by apartheid and the beneficiaries of black economic empowerment getting richer and richer, crime will thrive.
Our Opinion: Why crime reigns in EL
There is also a plethora of other theories doing the rounds about why he was in such a remote place all by himself.
But the sad reality is that Mpofu, an advocate representing miners and their families at the commission of inquiry into the Marikana shooting, probably was just the latest victim of the opportunistic crime that is spoiling East London’s reputation as a leisure venue.
The walk eastwards from Eastern Beach has been a favourite for generations among people seeking solitude and an opportunity for quiet contemplation. Like most of this region’s remote beaches, however, the common wisdom now is that it is no longer safe for people walking alone or in small groups.
In the city’s wealthier suburbs, electric fencing is sprouting where hedges once grew as more and more of those who can afford it, retreat behind barriers once associated only with Johannesburg.
Men and women setting out into Oxford Street are learning to remove neck-chains and earrings to escape the wave of snatch-and-run robberies this newspaper has had to report this year.
It is easy to blame poor policing – indeed it would be comforting to see more officers out on patrol – but the scourge of crime has many origins and it will take a multi-faceted attack on many fronts to stop it.
Closed circuit television cameras have been used to good effect around the world and could help to curb petty crime in many parts of the Buffalo City Metro area. Cape Town has brought petty crime down to a fraction of its level a few years ago with the help of cameras in the city.
They are useless if they are not constantly monitored by suitably trained people and backed by police ready to move at a moment’s notice. They are a deterrent only when word has spread about arrests made because of them.
On beaches and walking trails and in parks, however, there is much less that can be done to protect occasional visitors like Dali Mpofu.
Being alone in remote places will be safe again only when South Africa rebuilds its moral core.
And that will only happen when we accept as a nation that morality includes a home, the prospect of a job and the guarantee of a minimum standard of human dignity for each and every citizen.
For as long as the majority remain trapped in hopeless poverty and forced to watch those advantaged by apartheid and the beneficiaries of black economic empowerment getting richer and richer, crime will thrive.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos