At least 6 people arrested during refugee evictions in Pretoria

At least six people have been arrested during the eviction of refugees and asylum seekers outside the United Nations offices in Pretoria.

The acting Tshwane MMC for Community Safety, Kingsley Wakelin, said the group was arrested on suspicion of being undocumented immigrants.

Since the early hours of Friday, police executed a court eviction notice on over 100 people who camped outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees offices since last year.

Tshwane Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink said the city had a duty to enforce its bylaws as stated in the court eviction notice.

“The role of Tshwane, including the metro police is to assist this operation and to remove the unlawful structures that are on the sidewalk which is the City of Tshwane.”

Brink said he understood that many refugees and asylum seekers were unhappy with being relocated to the Lindela Repatriation Centre.

“The court order must be followed. When applying his mind, the judge considered all the relevant factors.”

Brink said the quality of the Lindela Repatriation Centre was a separate matter – which the city and other government departments were looking into over the next days.

-EWN

In other news – Faith Nketsi’s husband on the run as he flees his Hyde Park mansion

Troubled business mogul Nzuzo Njilo is allegedly on the run after the South African Police Service issued a warrant of arrest against him. A local publication has it that Njilo has since vacated his multimillion-rand Hyde Park mansion in the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg amid a police search.

Reports have it that the mansion was sold over a month ago. In the wake of these developments, little is known about his whereabouts, given that the mansion’s address was his last known address. Learn More