Police arrest over 200 foreigners without permits
Alexandra residents have applauded the South African Police Service (Saps) for its intervention in the form of Operation Restore at Pan Africa Mall on Friday.
Saps arrested more than 200 illegal immigrants. The operation, which started in Diepkloof in Soweto, saw at least 116 alleged foreigners in the area arrested.
Another 49 were arrested in Hillbrow and 44 in Alexandra following the Dudula Movement’s shutdown of stores they claimed were owned by foreign nationals. A resident, Mmabatho Motsopi, said although the police did not want to confirm it, the operation, which was centred around the Johannesburg district, was a response to the shutdown the Dudula Movement implemented on Monday.
Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) together with Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department arrest undocumented foreigners from the Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra, 11 March 2022. Picture: Sibongumenzi Sibiya
“We have been waiting for our government to respond to our cry and finally they have heard us.
“No bloodshed, no deaths, no xenophobic acts, but just adhering to the laws of our country,” she said.
According to Saps, the operation aimed to restore faith and trust in the police, while verifying the citizenship status of those arrested as well as checking for unlicensed firearms and labour law compliance in the local shops.
However, another resident, who refused to be named as she feared being targeted by the Dudula groups, said her father was among those arrested but he was married to their mother, who was a South African citizen.
“When I got here, I asked them why my father was arrested because he is officially a citizen here and also had his papers with him.
“They said they could see by his facial features and colour that he was a foreigner,” she said.
“I’m not sure what the whole aim of this operation is but they are clearly here to profile us racially.
“This man is 60 years old and he’s been here for more than 20 years and we are all citizens.”
Meanwhile, illegal immigrants Eddie Gana and Fanuel Sibindi, who have been in SA for more than five years, said they did not have the money to apply for their permits, which was why they were in SA illegally. “We’re just here to look for jobs, we are not here to steal or rob people.
BREAKING: Several undocumented foreign nationals have been arrested at Pan Africa. These workers are from Watloo Butchery in Alexandra. #Ziyakhala pic.twitter.com/VsaVMMAKqo
— Cliff the Reporter (@CliffShiko) March 10, 2022
“We just need to feed our kids and make a living that’s all.
“I’m very heartbroken by what is happening now,” Gana said.
Asylum seeker Abdirisaq Gure said they also welcomed the police operation but more should be done to ensure that documented foreign nationals were not harassed by community members and the police for bribes.
“They must understand that it’s Covid and home affairs is closed and we apply online and they also respond online via e-mail,” Gure said.
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