Cape Town - Reagan Fredericks, 30, whose body was recovered from the Keyser River canal on Sunday evening, has according to Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, brought conflict between Steenberg community members and City officials.
There have been a few complaints against City officials following the five-day search for Reagan Fredericks, who was allegedly last seen being attacked and thrown into the river. According to Smith, two complaints were directed at the officials.
“After the body of Reagan Fredericks was recovered from the Keyser River canal at the Military Road crossing on Sunday evening, there has been some community outrage, seemingly fabricated by a select few,” said Smith.
In one of the allegations, the City was accused of having sent divers in for the residents of Parow but not for Steenberg.
Smith replied to this, saying “the incident in Parow involved the ‘rescue’ of persons who were alive where the exact location of the trapped victims was known”.
“Meanwhile, in Steenberg, Fire and Rescue received the call on Wednesday afternoon and they responded within minutes. On arrival, they were informed that the drowning had taken place much earlier that morning.
“The SAPS had already been there earlier and had opened a missing person’s docket and had departed. SAPS had then dispatched its diving unit to the scene,” Smith said.
Another allegation was that the City failed to lend a helping hand in the search for the victim.
“The SAPS diving unit was unable to perform a search at the time due to there being no visibility. Drone footage from Friday (already two days later) confirms this – the water was still completely muddy.
“The decision to dive or not to dive was a decision by the SAPS, over which the City has no authority. With emergency services around the world, it is a very rare case that an underwater search in low or no visibility will commence, especially in the event of debris flowing in the water that could strike or trap a diver,” Smith said.
SAPS spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the body of a 30-year-old man was recovered on Sunday, June 18, with the assistance of the community members who supported the rescue operation.
Kirstenhof police registered an inquest for further investigation. Anyone with information that can assist with the investigation is requested to call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
siviwe.melapi@inl.co.za