Jammed at Safari Gardens: 
Thieves or Towers?

Rustenburg – One of Rustenburg’s mysteries continues to baffle residents and authorities alike. Is it crafty car thieves or problematic towers causing the chaos? If you have the answers, we’d love to hear them!

On Saturday 29 June 2024, a community member experienced yet another case of vehicle jamming at the Safari Gardens Shopping Centre. “This isn’t the first time those pesky thieves have targeted my car at this centre! I dread coming here because they always try to steal my car. But I love the stores here, so sometimes I take a chance, racing to the shop and back, hoping the thieves will nap while I shop! And the car guards always claim ignorance… very suspicious! Every time I’m here, I either can’t lock my car and have to wait around 20 minutes until it resets, or it locks but won’t unlock when I return. Those pesky robbers! How dare they! And I’m not the only one complaining. On Saturday there were eight other people who experienced problems with their remote locking at the same time than me. Sometimes the alarm just goes off randomly, and I have to wait 10 minutes to turn it off. How daft!”

Over the past year, Platinum Weekly has received numerous complaints about vehicle jamming at the Safari Gardens Shopping Centre. We’ve even reported on it. But, lo and behold! Despite all the drama, not a single vehicle theft has been reported at Safari Gardens Shopping Centre recently — at least according to the police.

Lieutenant colonel Amanda Funani confirmed, “The Rustenburg Police have no recent records of cases opened in connection with car jamming or theft at the complex. In the past, there were cases of property stolen out of motor vehicles.”

In an interview with HenCor Tactical Solutions owner, Henry Holsthyzen, who oversees security at Safari Gardens Shopping Centre, he remarked, “It’s definitely not thieves.” 

This occurrence has been ongoing for years. But Henry noted, “During the past two weeks, it’s been happening more frequently. We have been scouring the area for any suspicious activity but found no one using a jammer. Also, there have been no attempted break-ins or thefts in the last two months. If someone were using a jammer, we would have definitely picked it up.” 

#AND! if they were using a jammer, they’d be a very unsuccessful thief!