JOHANNESBURG - The Bopha Foundation said women in Kempton Park are afraid to leave their homes following a spate of murders.
They have called on Gauteng government to step up its response.
The foundation’s Andrew Baloyi said they want accountability, including taking the matter to court if necessary.
"It's painful, what is happening in Ekurhuleni. If the government does not step in, there will be problems, because communities will start organising themselves against these thugs. It's going to be chaos.
“We know the police are working on it and we appreciate that, and we want them to continue implementing it. Putting a huge force to prevent another murder, because another murder is a problem. Our sisters are living in fear in Kempton Park.
“They don't go shopping; they don't go anywhere now. They are sitting at home; they are like slaves. We will fight, we want accountability and we want these programmes to be implemented in such areas. We will go to court; we will do anything that we need to do to make sure that there is accountability."
Baloyi said Gauteng's government needs to show residents how its panic button system actually works.
The province has promised several tools to fight crime, including panic buttons, cameras, helicopters and patrols.
He said most residents are unaware of these interventions, or how they can be used when they need help.
"I think it's two years or three years ago where the provisional government have promised the citizens of Gauteng province infrastructure to deal with the issues of crime, including I think it's five elements. It's panic button, cameras, corner-to-corner, helicopters, drones and patrol waders and so forth. So we've been questioning about the issue of panic button because it's a good initiative for our sisters, our mothers, our women who are being murdered every day, in fact.
“Especially in Kempton Park, crime is very high. It's uncontrollable. Basically, the government has given up the city to thugs and so forth. So, I mean, in a normal way, when you have an initiative like panic button, you need to show it to people how this thing works. I mean, it's a funded project, I believe so. So if it's a funded project, why is it not demonstrated to people how to utilise it?"