Inanda’s proud legacy is being overshadowed by gangsterism - IOL

Ohlange High School and the Ohlange Institute are part of the Inanda Heritage Route with the latter being declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is where South Africa's first democratically-elected president Nelson Mandela cast his vote in 1994. The letter writer argues that crime overshadows Inanda's rich legacy.

The level of crime and gangsterism affecting Inanda is deeply shocking.

I have never lived in the township, but I remember growing up knowing it as a place with a proud educational and political history. Institutions such as Inanda Seminary and Ohlange produced generations of leaders and professionals who made their mark in South Africa. Inanda Seminary, established in 1869, has a particularly distinguished place in the history of African education.

This is also the Inanda associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s Phoenix Settlement and with the rich political legacy of figures such as John Langalibalele Dube and Inkosi Albert Luthuli. Luthuli, South Africa’s first Nobel Peace laureate, was educated at Ohlange before going on to become one of the country’s most respected liberation leaders.

Against that proud history, reports of the violence allegedly associated with the West Gang are deeply disturbing. Recent police operations have linked alleged gang members to serious crimes including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and house robbery.

Who is supplying these young men with firearms and ammunition? Where does the money come from? Are drugs playing a role in fuelling the violence and emboldening young men to terrorise communities?

Inanda, like many townships, has a community policing forum and a police station. Yet the persistence of violent crime raises questions about whether existing efforts are sufficient to protect residents.

And then there is the most uncomfortable question: who benefits from the chaos?

Violence does not happen in a vacuum. Guns, ammunition and drugs have to come from somewhere, and someone benefits financially from criminal activity. Establishing who supplies, finances and facilitates these networks should be a priority for law-enforcement agencies.

No community should be forced to change how its residents live because of gangs. People should not have to decide where they can walk, when they can leave their homes or when they must return because armed criminals have effectively taken control of parts of their neighbourhood.

Many townships around Durban face serious problems with crime. But the reports emerging from Inanda should demand particular attention because they threaten not only lives and livelihoods, but also the township's remarkable legacy.

Inanda should be known for its schools, its history, its leaders and its contribution to South Africa's struggle for freedom. It cannot be allowed to become synonymous with guns, gangs and fear. | LINDANI MBATHA Pietermaritzburg