THE death of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) leader hit the hearts of hundreds of residents who gathered at John Makola's house on Wednesday, 28 June, afternoon to say their final goodbyes.
Men could be seen removing their hats as John's casket made its way to his house under a heavily knitted guard of honour.
Residents sang as the hearse approached, welcoming the priest, and a moment was given to the family to mourn the passing of their loved one.
John died on Sunday, 18 June, after he was shot while attending a crime scene where thugs targeted a shop owner in the area.
Former councillor and friend, Madlozi Ndlazi, told Daily Sun Johan was a selfless man who always had the best interest of his community.
He spoke fondly of John as he had known him for over a decade while they both actively played a role in the community as a member of CPF around 1996.
"It has been almost a decade since we have lived with John. He was a chairperson for the CPF, but you could never say. He never liked violence, but instead, he was a very calm person," Ndlazi said.
"During his term, there were a lot of challenges and violence around 2004 and 2005 when we had started the Wanya Tsotsi slogan of which John was part.
"When a thug would be beaten up, he would excuse himself saying, this was a situation he could not handle. He never loved the attention from the media but worked towards ensuring safety within the community," Madlozi said.
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Resilient and eager to fight crime in the area, Madlozi membered how John would always say to him: "We can't fold our arms. Yes, these criminals will kill us, but we can't fold our arms. Let's go out there and catch them. Even if they kill us, they will also die one day."
Since John's death, anger has been brewing in the community of Diepsloot, which has been protesting for the past week.
One community member said they were tired of the crime rate in the area.
"We can't even leave the house at night because we fear being robbed. Slight noises from a mere rat at night scare us because we think it's intruders. We want justice. We want Cyril Ramaphosa," the member said.
The area remains tense after chairman of the Diepsloot community forum, Loyiso Toyiya, threatened that the protest action would continue should the president fail to visit the area.
