The Mpumalanga police, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, have launched Operation Siyavutha to combat crime and undocumented immigrants in the province. The Mpumalanga SAPS commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, led the event in the Mbombela area today, May 26, which was supported by the MEC for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe.
Manamela said the launch is in response to community members’ complaints about the high crime rate. She said the main aim is to ensure that all criminal activities are stopped in all provincial areas and on major roads connecting to other provinces. “We realised that we needed to decisively deal with crime on our roads, in hotspot areas. We began on the N4 with the launch and stop-and-search. Within an hour, we had arrested over 25 illegal immigrants and four babies. Two live rounds of ammunition were recovered at the roadblock.”
Manamela added that this operation will continue in order to ensure that criminals do not have a place to operate. “We proceeded to the notorious Anderson Street in Mbombela and conducted searches. Some of the shops selling illegal goods were closed down. Some illegal immigrants were apprehended. We did not find any drugs, but we will continue to monitor the area until it is free of crime and drugs.”
Read more: Still no answer to Mpumalanga flood damage finance requests
Shongwe welcomed the gesture and stated that his department would support it because he wants a safe community.
“I applaud the provincial police’s initiative and am confident that it will significantly reduce crime. I’m concerned about the number of unnoticed illegal immigrants who crossed the border – this needs to be addressed.”
