Metro cops eviction a 'misunderstanding'

2012-11-17 22:05

Johannesburg Metro Police (File)

Johannesburg - The eviction of Ekurhuleni metro police from their office at the OR Tambo International Airport was due to a "misunderstanding", the Ekurhuleni metro municipality said on Saturday.

"There was a communication breakdown that led to a misunderstanding which saw the Ekurhuleni metro police department offices at the airport being closed [on Friday]," mayoral spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said in a statement.

The Saturday Star reported that the metro police found themselves locked out on Friday after their rent had not paid for over a year.

This was after the grace period on a final demand notice, which Airports Company SA (Acsa) issued to the Ekurhuleni council, expired on Friday. Dlamini said the municipality was working to urgently restore the metro police to their airport offices, but denied any interruption of law enforcement services.

Acsa spokesperson Unathi Batyashe-Fillis told the Saturday Star that the decision to evict the metro police was not taken lightly.

"We have been sending them invoices since December last year, and our finance department has been communicating with the metro properly on this."

She would not divulge how much was owed on the account.

Some metro police officers voiced concerns that certain aspects of law enforcement at the airport could be compromised.

- SAPA