The ‘Menace of Tsakane’ arrested at last
The police officer who has been terrorising legal shebeen owners in the township near Brakpan was arrested after The Citizen exposed him.
Brothers Thulani Manana and Vusi in their shebeen in Tsakane, 19 June 2018. The brothers claim to being extorted by a Metro police officer who in one incident illegally confiscated alcohol worth R 17 000. Picture: Refilwe Modise
The long arm of the law has finally caught up with Lawrence Kgomo, known by residents of the Springs township as “the Menace of Tsakane”.
Police officer Kgomo, who is alleged to have terrorised scores of legally operating shebeen owners in the East Rand township near Springs, is expected to appear in court next month after being arrested by the South African Police Service anticorruption unit.
According to Thulani Manana, one of the police officer’s many alleged victims, “Kgomo single-handedly managed to close 62 of the 72 shebeens in Tsakane, leaving many families without an income.
“It is now business as usual. We are elated by action taken to arrest Kgomo,” said Manana.
Although Hawks spokesperson Lloyd Ramovha could not immediately confirm the arrest, Kgomo is said to have been apprehended near a Tsakane petrol station with a colleague. He is believed to be out on bail.
The arrest follows The Citizen’s revelation of the policeman’s alleged abuse of power.
Distraught residents told of the confiscation of their liquor stock, imposition of fines and being branded as “illegal”, despite producing compliance certificates from the Gauteng department of economic development.
“It has been tough for all of us,” said Manana. “A neighbour facing family bereavement recently lost stock worth R42 000 after his shebeen was raided.
“I hope that my stock, worth R17 000, which was taken to the Tsakane police station, will now be returned.”
Manana hoped the arrest would end months of battles for the return of his stock. He claimed a senior officer, Colonel Rajesh Ramlall, sided with Kgomo.
Ramlall, according to a recording in the possession of The Citizen, maintained Manana operated an “illegal shebeen”, claiming his permit issued by the Gauteng Liquor Board was no longer valid.
He also told Manana at the time that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate could not tell him what to do, “because we are all at the same level”.
ALSO READ: Shebeen-owner brothers battle ‘Menace of Tsakane’ police officer
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