Police ‘clean-up’ turns into violent protest
When the police and the other security operators returned to the station after the "clean-up" they were met with furious protesters burning various items in the street. The fire brigade rushed to the scene to extinguish the inferno.
MBOMBELA – Vendors of the Short Brown Street market burnt tyres, dustbins and pallets in the street to demonstrate their rage after the Mbombela police infiltrated their market and confiscated myriads illegal products and arrested unregistered immigrants.
Henshall Street had to be barricaded when the vendors set pallets alight in the middle of the road. They eventually tossed trolleys and full dustbins into the flames and threw large rocks and bricks at the police station, damaging a vehicle.
The SAPS had to disperse the angry crowd with rubber bullets.
The upheaval was as a result of a police “clean-up” of illegal products and immigrants. Mbombela SAPS, home affairs, customs, J&M, Nelspruit Community Policing Forum, Fofo Security and Mbombela’s new by-law enforcement agency gathered at the Nelspruit Rugby Club to be dispatched to the various wetland areas around the city. “We received information that people are living in the marshes,” said Mbombela SAPS spokesman Capt Dawie Pretorius. “We have reason to believe these are illegal immigrants who commit crimes.”
The agencies all teamed up to search the wetland areas around Hoërskool Bergvlam, Town Lodge and the N4 opposite the civic centre to bust people who could not produce a valid passport.
The alleged illegal immigrants were taken to the police station to take their fingerprints. “It’s for exclusion purposes only,” said Pretorius. “We want to make sure they are not related to any crimes we have on record.”
After the wetland search, police cracked down on the market on Short Brown Street, searching for unlawful products and foreign national vendors. Stalls were searched and many had to pack up and leave. Truckloads of illicit products were confiscated and police found many illegal foreigners among the vendors.
When the police and the other security operators returned to the station they were met with furious protesters burning various items in the street. The fire brigade rushed to the scene to extinguish the inferno.
Rocks, bricks and potatoes were thrown at officials. The window of one of the vehicles parked inside the police parkade was hit by a brick.
Pretorius said if the protest leaders could be tracked down they would be arrested for public violence.
