Chaos in Katlehong
The Katlehong SAPS has dismissed rumours that are currently being spread around the township that Indo-Pak shop-owners are kidnapping children at schools to retaliate the attacks on their rented shops.
The rumour, which spread like wildfire around Katlehong, resulted in scores of worried parents rushing to local schools to fetch their children. However, the Katlehong SAPS told Kathorus MAIL that that they have the situation under control, and blamed rumour-mongers for causing pandemonium in the township.
“We’ve visited almost every school around Katlehong and we can confirm that it is not true that school children are being kidnapped by Pakistani and Bangladeshi shop-owners around the township,” said the police media spokesperson at the Ramokonopi Police Station.
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Meanwhile, local residents around the township described the ongoing burning and looting of foreign-owned “spaza-shops” as troubling. No injuries were reported by the police at the time of going to press, but a lot of Katlehong residents said they feared the situation could get worse.
Further rumours of Pakistani and Bangladeshi shop-owners forming vigilante groups to fight back against the locals were also dismissed. Claims that foreign shop-owners had set several schools alight were also said to be untrue by the police.
Earlier this morning, huge smoke could be seen coming from a burning school in the township and was said to have been torched by angry foreigners. This was also denied by the police who attributed the fire to criminal elements among the opportunistic looters.
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