Photo by Margo Fortune.
22 May 2013
Last week, 17-year old Glenrico Martin was shot dead at his high school in Athlone. Natheer Abrahams is 16-years old and is being bullied and threatened by gangsters. He suspects they are the same ones that killed Glenrico.
Natheer Abrahams is a Garlandale High student from Bokmakerie in Athlone. He was heading to school on 2 May when two boys chased and tried to stab him. Natheer says that the following week the same boys approached him in the morning on his way to school and robbed him of R50 at gunpoint. The boys also indicated that they wanted to take Natheer’s cell phone, but he was able to hide it.
“The one guy held a gun to my head saying, ‘if we don’t get Chucky’, who is my cousin, ‘in this week we will shoot you’”, said Natheer.
Natheer is traumatized. Until Chucky’s name was mentioned he did not know why he was being targeted. Chucky (a nickname) is a member of the Hard Livings gang. The boys who are targeting Natheer are members of the rival G Unit gang.
Ms. Abrahams, Natheer’s mother, explains, “I have been to the police to open up a case because my child’s life is in danger. [The gang members] wait for him to go to school, which they don’t attend. They have all the time to plan and wait around. I feel that the police are not protecting the school kids, because [as of] yet no arrest has been made which allowed them to get hold of my son the second time, with a gun.”
On Wednesday, 15 May, 17-year-old Glenrico Martin, also known as “Jimmy”, of Spes Bona Secondary School in Athlone, was shot dead at the back entrance of the school premises. Two boys dressed in Spes Bona school uniforms exited a taxi and headed straight towards Martin. A pupil of the Spes Bona school said that last week she had seen these gangsters at the school and they had spoken to the principal. “There is a lot of gang activity in the vicinity of Spes Bona”, said the pupil.
“They had come before to look for Jimmy, but he was not at school. The following day when Jimmy returned to school he was escorted off the premises. He had told me the G-Units had come for him”, said the pupil.
GroundUp has called the principal to confirm that he knows about this but he was not available for comment.
Glenrico Martin (Jimmy)’s aunt, Estelle, said, “It’s sad that we lost Glenrico. He was excited for his matric dance. The guys who did this had no heart because they planned this. [I] hope justice is done. He will be missed. The saddest part is that he was killed on school premises, where kids are supposed to feel safe, but now people have to wonder if your kid will ever make it home after school.”
Bronagh Casey, spokesperson for Donald Grant (provincial MEC for education), told GroundUp that MEC Grant and Provincial MEC for Community Safety, Dan Plato, met the school’s principal, SAPS, and other education officials to discuss security measures at the school. These measures will include increased patrolling during school hours, increased visibility before and after school when learners are traveling to and from school, random SAPS visits to the school, searches/seizures and meetings with parents and learners.
Casey says that Spes Bona school is well equipped with security systems. Security systems include CCTV cameras, metal detectors, security gates, alarms, and implemented well-developed safety plans. Mr. Casey explained that there are “safety officers” (known as Bambanani officers) at the school who help monitor access and report suspicious behaviour to the school’s management. Casey continued, “In order to further protect our schools and our learners, R25.5 million will be allocated to the Department’s Safe Schools’ programme. This is an increase of the previous financial year’s amount, and will be used to provide targeted support to schools. This support will address issues such as youth development, substance abuse, conflict management, mediation, gangsterism and safety management. The financial support will also be used to provide core security infrastructure to schools such as alarm systems, safety gates and burglar proofing, in order to deter trespassing, burglary and vandalism.”
Two young men, suspected of killing Glenrico Martin (Jimmy), have been arrested. They appeared in Athlone Court on Monday 20 May. The case has been moved to Wynberg Magistrate’s Court and will be heard on 27 May. It is unclear whether they are the same two young men who have been threatening Natheer, however, they are from the same gang. SAPS are investigating the case opened by Ms. Abrahams.
Corrections have been made to this article on 04 June, 9am SAST.