WATCH: Ekurhuleni metro police allegedly burn job seeker adverts
A resident says it appeared police were enforcing bylaws by removing job seekers and burning their advertising material in an uncontrolled environment.
Metro police allegedly burning job seeker adverts. Image: Kempton Express/YouTube video screenshot
Metro police officers were recently caught on camera burning what looks like job seekers’ advertising material on the corner of Rienert Avenue and the P91 (R25) in Edleen, Kempton Park, reports Kempton Express.
Van Riebeeck Park resident Jessica Kruger raised her concerns about the fire that was allegedly started by the metro police.
“It looks like they were enforcing bylaws by removing the job seekers, but I don’t think starting an uncontrolled fire is part of enforcing bylaws,” said Kruger.
“I understand they have to do their job, but I feel they could have handled it better. What would have happened had the fire spiralled out of control? They could have opted to rather confiscate the items instead of burning them.”
Kempton Express sent a list of questions to the metro police, including whether they were allowed to burn the items of job seekers.
“We were not aware of the allegations levelled against us and we are still busy conducting thorough investigations,” said Kobeli Mokheseng, spokesperson for the metro police.
Some of Kruger’s concerns were:
• Creating danger for persons passing by and for the nearby property if the fire flared out of control.
• They didn’t have the fire department at hand should the fire had raged out of control.
• They didn’t have an ambulance or paramedics on scene in case the fire caused harm to anyone as a result of smoke inhalation or getting burnt.
• They were not protecting themselves by wearing any protective gear or equipment.
“This was reckless behaviour by the metro police and posed a serious danger to society,” said Kruger.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
