STELLALANDER-VRYBURG: The DA in Vryburg is concerned by the slow pace of the local SAPS in the investigation into the disappearance of Selwyn Vry.
To date, there has been little progress in bringing justice to the Vry-family, says Cllr John Adonis - DA Councillor, Naledi Local Municipality. According to information received, Selwyn was last seen by his family on Saturday, 26 August at about 19:00 when he indicated that he was going to his friends. Selwyn never returned home since he left. The family looked for him with no success and reported him missing on Monday, 29 August. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a blue denim jeans during his disappearance. He is very tall with black hair and brown eyes. Now almost seven months later, there is no trace of his whereabouts. The Vry-family is not only traumatised by Selwyn’s disappearance, but also by the tardiness of the police investigation, says Adonis.
On Friday, 15 March, the DA, together with residents, staged a picket at the Vryburg police station in Vry Street and submitted a memorandum to the Acting Station Commander, Captain Mantsiana, calling on the police to: Question all persons with whom Selwyn was seen within his last 24 hours before his disappearance again; conduct a forensic re-examination of the residence where he was last seen; finalise all outstanding forensic reports as a matter of urgency; and request specialised missing persons SAPS assistance.“The slow progress in this case is indicative of the lack of resources and the poor training of police officers. Dedicated police officers are hamstrung by the ANC government’s failure to adequately capacitate them to fight crime. We also wrote to the North West Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena, to ensure that the assistance required is made available so that resources are unlocked to try everything possible to reunite Selwyn with his family, “Adonis elaborated. Residents increasingly fall victim to crime and the SAPS should take all possible steps to serve and protect communities, and where crime does take place to effectively respond and investigate to ensure justice is done. Any person with information on the disappearance of Selwyn is requested to make contact with investigating Officer, Sergeant Molefi Seothaeng of Vryburg Detective Services, on 082 443 9017 or your nearest police station. Anonymous tip-offs can also be communicated via Crime Stop on.
