Local police denied the incident at a block of flats where foreigners were allegedly threatened as xenophobia-related, rather an attempted robbery.

This contradicts what a Somalian witness told the herald on scene.

According to Captain Appel Ernst, spokesperson for the Randfontein Police, “The officer on duty said that no arrests were made. They only took a South African man away because they feared for his life.”

Ernst further stated “There was a funeral at the Marida Heights block of flats when three South Africans tried to rob Pakistani nationals on the scene. Both parties then began to throw stones at each other.”

With regards to the gun she said that, “One of the people involved was a licensed gun owner but did not have a gun with him. Police did not fire any shots.”

When asked about the police officer allegedly being xenophobic she stated “The person that told you is more than welcome to come to the police station to get a sworn affidavit so that the matter can be investigated further.”

Ernst added “There have been xenophobic attacks. This case might be linked but we do not have proof that this is true therefore I cannot comment on the matter.”

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