UPDATE: No surprises in Madala Hostel raid

ALEX - There were no surprises from a midnight police raid on the notorious Madala Hostel at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Alfred Nzo Street.

April 23, 2015

Sipho Siso 2 minutes read

PHOTO: Jacaranda News, Twitter.com Military and the police raid a hostel in Alex on 23 April

UPDATE: 3AM: Gauteng police spokesperson Col Noxolo Kwenza said last night she was not at liberty to discuss anything with the media as she was still awaiting a briefing from her seniors in terms of what transpired and what police confiscated during the raid.

“I will address the media and issues once I have been briefed as I do not have information in my person at the moment,” she said to a small contingent of journalists who braved the slight chill of winter.

Chairperson of the Madala Hostel indunas, Bafowethu Sokhela said as far as he was concerned, there was nothing the police found, no weapons, no looted goods and no arrests made, except for three cases of beer belonging to a member of the residents committee, Ephraim Ncamu, who runs a spaza inside the hostel.

Even sources at the Alexandra Police Station pointed to the cases of beer, saying that was all they found. Sokhela commended the police for the way they conducted the raid and described the whole operation as peaceful and very humane.

“We do not have any incidents of police harassment or beating of residents except for a door they broke down when sleeping residents in an apartment in one of the blocks delayed opening their door.

“As for me,” he said, “they found me watching a soccer match on TV and they politely told me they were looking for guns and other weapons and would like to search my house, which they did and then left.”

There were dozens of police cars lined up on Alfred Nzo Street and there was no presence of the army in the operation, except for a police helicopter that flying and encircling the hostel while at the same time beaming a spotlight.

Initial report:

A hostel in Alex was raided by military and the police shortly after 12pm on 23 April.

This comes mere hours after the MEC Sizakele Nkosi Malobane was meant to address hostel dwellers in the area. The meeting was canned after Nkosi-Malobane was accused of not following protocol, and meeting with the Indunas first.

Alex News journalist, Sipho Siso, is at the scene, and said more information would become available once the raid had been completed.

This post will be updated as more information is received.

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