By Chimaimba Banda
Two men suspected of murdering a woman from Eldorado Park near Johannesburg were freed in the recent mass release of convicts, it was claimed on Tuesday.
Four men have now been arrested in connection with the killing of Monica Arendse, 50, who was butchered last week in her home.
Police spokesperson Richard Luvhengo said he could neither confirm nor deny claims by members of the community that some of the suspects had been released in the recent move to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
Vincent Gabriel, who heads a new community forum to deal with crime in Eldorado Park, said two of the suspects had been released from jail recently. It also emerged on Monday that two suspects were well known to the victim, who ran the Love-Happiness day-care centre for mentally disturbed children. One is believed to have been a driver/gardener who ferried children to and from the centre.
Two of the suspects were arrested at a nearby informal settlement after the community gave information to the police.
The forum came into existence two months ago when a man was killed in the neighbourhood. Community leaders said patrols would soon be started. Residents had been encouraged to buy whistles and panic buttons.
"There is a perception that police are reactive," said Gabriel, who was instrumental in giving police information about Arendse's killers.
Gabriel said that after the latest murder, community leaders called on residents not to buy stolen goods.
"We have made all children aware they must be vigilant. Mechanisms are in place to deal with crime in this area," he said, adding that residents would march to the Kliptown police station on Saturday to highlight their concerns.
The march, he said, would "protest about the non-proactiveness of the police, to show disgust about what is happening in our closely-knit, humble and quiet community".
The march will coincide with Arendse's funeral, which will be preceded by a service at the Kliptown West assembly hall starting at 8am.
Gabriel said criminals "have been getting away with petty crime. Now, they are getting away with brutal murder".
Prayers have been held daily for Arendse. On Monday, a sheep was slaughtered at her home to appease her spirit.
Peter Julius, an evangelist, said: "Everybody loved her. She was a very nice person and very religious."
On a wall of her home in Elliot Street, Arendse had pasted a tract declaring: "God put me on this earth to accomplish certain things. Right now, I am so far behind that I will never die."