- Bandile Gcuwa, chairperson of the Langa Safety Patrol (LSP), was honoured as Crime Fighter of the Year during the Annual Neighbourhood Watch Awards in Cape Town on 23 November.
- Gcuwa credited the award to collective teamwork, emphasizing the LSP’s sacrifices in making Langa a safer place.
- The event also recognised other neighbourhood watch groups and individuals for their contributions, including awards for situational crime prevention, social responsibility, and courage in action.
The Langa Safety Patrol (LSP) chairperson Bandile Gcuwa is exhilarated after he was named the Crime Fighter of Year during the Annual Neighbourhood Watch awards ceremony held at the Civic Centre in Cape Town on Saturday 23 November.
The event recognises the invaluable contribution of accredited Neighbourhood Watches (NW) who have shown exceptional performance and dedication in community safety and upliftment.
Four group and eight individual awards were given at the event.
The Neighbourhood Watch of the Year was awarded to Fernpark in Brackenfell, Edgemead Neighbourhood Watch was awarded the Situational Crime Prevention Award, Strand Neighbourhood Watch walked away with the Social Responsibility Award, while Loswill Park, Strand received the Courage in Action Award. The Neighbourhood Watch Member of the Year was awarded to Juan Fouche (Victoria NW). Pierre Fourie (Pinelands NW) received the Organisational Excellence Award.
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The Mobilisers of the Year was a tie between Saleem Orrie (Vanguard Welcome Estate NW) and Heide Jean Ebrahim (Pinelands NW). While Debra Pietersen (Edgemead NW) and Pierre Fourie (Pinelands NW) both took home the Courage in Action Award.
Gcuwa described his nomination in the event as a sign of appreciation.
The LSP, under the leadership of Gcuwa, is well-known for its stellar job in dealing with crime in the area.
“This is an individual award. But it is not about me, but a collective effort. We work very hard to protect the Langa community. We sacrifice our lives to ensure that our community is safe,” said Gcuwa.
He stated that he knew that a day of his recognition would come and felt special and honoured by the recognition.
“I have been the chair of the LSP for seven years. The community trusts me. Every year we go to an annual general meeting where people are electing the new leadership. My name will be there. I’m always elected as a chair unopposed,” he explained.
Elaborating on how he entered the awards Gcuwa stated that the City emailed all the registered neighbourhood watches informing them about these awards. He said he entered trying his luck and he won.
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“I knew that I had the potential to win, but when my name was announced I was a bit shocked. Many people from different NHW entered the awards. And to be a winner makes me feel special,” he said.
Describing Langa he said it is a quiet and safe place because of their involvement.
“Langa is the only area that has tourists, Uber and Bolt. The tourists feel safe in Langa because of the work that we are doing. The fact that there is one entry and one exit makes it easy for us to manage it,” he explained, adding that they have a good relationship with the local officers.
He highlighted house robberies and smash and grab as the major problems in the area.
