Cops raid illegal Zim bus stops
2010-03-11 23:23
Johannesburg - With only 90 days left before the kickoff of the 2010 World Cup, the SA Police Service and the Johannesburg Metro Police Service (JMPS) on Thursday showed that they won't tolerate any kind of criminal activity.
Members of these forces took part in a large-scale raid in the Johannesburg CBD and Hillbrow on Thursday.
Two illegal bus stops, where people board buses headed for Zimbabwe, were closed. One of the illegal pick-up spots is on the corner of Wolmarans and Harrison streets, and the other is in Leyds Street.
Foreigners stand and watch as police officials go through their belongings at an illegal bus stop in Johannesburg. (Loanna Hoffmann, Beeld)
Officials armed with R5 assault rifles and shotguns pulled people off buses and made them lie on the ground. Officials searched the people and their belongings.
"We're going to start making nuisances of ourselves. I don't want to see those people (Zimbabweans). They must get on (the bus) at a legal stop. It's time to clean up the streets," said David Tembe, operational chief of the JMPS.
People were later chased away from these bus stops, and some had to hurry to gather their belongings.
The police paid a visit to three buildings in Hillbrow, all of which were in a dilapidated and chaotic condition. The electricity had been cut off and people were living amid garbage and a terrible stench.
A man was arrested after police removed dagga plants from behind one of the buildings. Alcohol was also seized at one the buildings.
Some police officers were clearly shocked by the conditions in which many of these people live.
"It's better to stay in a shack in a township than to live like this.
"The buildings need to be demolished because many criminals are hiding here," said an official.
Unnecessary force
At one of the illegal bus stops in Wolmarans Street, people complained that the police were using unnecessary force and aggression.
"They're rude and they always treat us like we aren't people. Why do they have to treat us like that?
"We've done nothing wrong and we just want to go back to Zimbabwe," said a woman before being led away by an official.
Police officials also fired rubber bullets to disperse a large group of bystanders.