Vigilante group tightens hold on Alexandra as police investigations stall
As investigations into the case against an anti-illegal immigration group in Alexandra stalls, the alleged suspects intensify their operations with a recent invasion.
An anti-illegal immigration group is tightening its hold on Alexandra, and residents say police are failing to act. On June 26, the group returned to a home they illegally seized, broke the gates, and claimed ownership of the property, threating to attack anyone who stood in their way.
Although there is a case opened against them, and a video circulating on social media shows some of their faces, none of the perpetrators have been apprehended or brought in for questioning.
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On the video, residents’ furniture is scattered across the street, and the alleged perpetrators can be seen parading the streets with stones and sticks in their hands.
Alexandra Station Commander Brigadier Visumuzi Ngobeni admitted to seeing the video, however, he said it does not provide sufficient evidence to charge anyone with the crimes they are accused of committing. “You cannot arrest someone based on it,” Ngubane explained. “They were not committing a crime. The video just shows them passing.” When asked if the video can prove useful in the investigation at all, he noted that it can be used to identify the alleged perpetrators, in order to bring them in for questioning.
ActionSA Ward 105 chairperson Tumelo Shai argued that it does not make sense for police to say they cannot use the video. He said the video should be enough to prove they committed the crimes because it was taken on the same day, and place where residents were evicted, and their furniture was burned. “You want to see them kill a person, so that you can know? The argument does not make sense. The police said they want to work with us, but they say they can’t use that in court.”
Since one of the victims, Lucky Moima, opened a case on June 16, three days before the evictions, no suspect has been brought in for questioning and victims claim that they were not receiving any communication from the police.
Investigating Officer, Detective Colonel Daniel Raletlhaka, who is currently communicating with Shai, said he only knew about the case on June 26. Speaking about the delays in apprehending the suspects and concerns about victims not being updated, he said he was told that the suspects were unknown.
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