Meeting: foreigners pack SAPS hall

Vosloorus SAPS held a meeting with foreign business owners and their landlords at Vosloorus Police Station on Wednesday, February 8 to discuss crime against them.

The station commander at Vosloorus Police Station Brig Themba Denge, senior state prosecutor (NPA) Themba Maluleke from Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court, CPF project coordinator Wiseman Langa, Vosloorus SAPS social crime prevention commander Obed Phala, the sector managers and the executive CPF members were present during the meeting.

Foreigners came in their numbers to fill up the hall inside Vosloorus Police Station. Some had to listen through the windows from outside the hall because there was no space left inside.

According to the communication officer at the Vosloorus Police Station Capt Piet Rossouw, “Most of the foreigners who attended are from Somalia and Bangladesh. They came in numbers because they really want to know how the police are going to help in fighting crime against them.

“The problem that we have as the SAPS at the moment is that cases that are opened by foreign businesspeople are withdrawn and that they don’t attend as witnesses at court cases. In that case we have no choice but to withdraw the cases because the witnesses have disappeared,” said Rossouw.

Foreigners then explained the reasons why they withdraw court cases and why they don’t turn up as witnesses in some of the cases.

One of the male foreigners, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We are being abused by local people. They take our hard-earned money, cigarettes, airtime as well as food. If we open cases against them we receive a lot of threats. Some of the threats are those of being killed, beaten and torched alive. That is why we leave our shops in fear to relocate to different places and end up not attending the court cases we open against local people,” said the man.

Most of the landlords complained about the foreigners befriending local women, saying that some impregnate them as well. They alleged that one of the reasons why the foreigners are robbed is that their former girlfriends turn against them and sell them out to criminals.

According to the prosecutor’s office, foreigners fail to attend cases both because they sometimes open false cases and because they receive death threats from local residents.

Rossouw told Kathorus MAIL what was agreed upon during the meeting.

“The way forward was discussed.

“It was agreed that monthly meetings will be held in each of the five sectors around Vosloorus, by CPF members, sector managers and foreigners in those sectors, to discuss problems they are facing. After that, there will be quarterly meetings that will be held by all sector managers, CPF members, the station commander, the crime prevention commanders and me,” said Rossouw.

Rossouw said the reason for the meetings is to help foreign business people to feel safe and accepted in the country.

“They will have a chance to raise their concerns in those meetings,” said Rossouw.

The SAPS advised landlords to phone the police as soon as they suspect that a robbery is taking place, because they know local people better than the foreigners do.