Cops bully foreigners for cash - claim
Pretoria - Police in Pretoria have been accused of running a xenophobic
operation, in which they bullied foreign nationals and extorted bribes from
them, leaving them living in constant fear of being victimised.
Reports on the alleged harassment of foreigners emerged last week, with
some telling the Pretoria News of being taken from the street and thrown into
the back of police vehicles, where bribes were requested and documents seized.
“This is wrong and out of hand, the police have taken to bullying
tactics to make money out of these vulnerable people,” Pretoria East
businessman Peter Colyn said.
A Zimbabwean employee of the gardening service run by Colyn’s wife was
stopped while walking home from work last week, body searched and told to give
up the R300 he had on him in exchange for freedom. “He refused because that was
money he was sending home, so he spent a few hours riding around in the back of
the police vehicle while others were picked up and put through the same
process,” he said.
The family were alerted to this by their employee and rushed to the
Central police station, where the man was released as soon as the van he was
travelling in arrived. “He was told to watch his step because they would watch
him. Why should he live like that?” asked Colyn.
The Zimbabwean is one of many who have reported the alleged abuse by the
police, some saying they had spent nights behind bars after failing to pay
bribes, and others saying their documentation had been taken away and not
returned.
The foreign nationals said they had been intimidated and lived in fear
of being harassed by the police at home or on the street, in acts they said
were xenophobic and meant to discriminate against them for being non-South
African.
On Tuesday, the Department of Home Affairs said they had legal recourse
if they were harassed in the name of migration rules. “They must lodge a
complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission, or seek redress via legal aid
organisations,” spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said. Tshwete added that they could
report abuse to the anti-corruption hotline. He encouraged those whose documents
had been taken to come forward with evidence so that they could investigate the
lawfulness of the seizures.
He said the police or immigration officers could detain a suspected
illegal foreigner for up to 48 hours to verify their status. If they were in
the country illegally, they could be issued with a deportation warrant or
brought before a court to be criminally charged.
“Documents can be seized in order to assist with an investigation, but
proper receipting must be done and the owner informed appropriately,” he added.
The police were also accused by the foreigners, of abusing government’s
clean-up operation, Fiela, but Tshwete said immigration operations by the
department were a norm. He said: “They were done before Operation Fiela, and
they are a part of the lawful mandate of the Department of Home Affairs.”
The ongoing situation was inhumane and totally uncalled for, said Colyn.
“This is a reversal of the fight for equality, we are going back into the time
of segregation and it is not right,” he added.
The provincial police on Tuesday said operations were meant to address
crime. “It is unfortunate that during these operations there are people who are
inconvenienced and others become victims of corrupt members,” Gauteng
provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.
ntando.makhubu@inl.co.za
@ntsandvose
Pretoria News
