Identify and apprehend those orchestrating the violence – Maimane

In his pursuit to condemn xenophobic attacks and looting of foreign national shops in the Johannesburg CBD, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane called on Police Minister Bheki Cele to deploy more visible and effective police in the area.

“The only way we will restore peace and calm to these areas is through more efficient policing. We need to be able to arrest those who are destroying property and looting shops, and we need to be able to identify and apprehend those who are orchestrating the violence,” Maimane said.

He also called on the national government to deploy an emergency budget to deal with the outbreak of xenophobic violence in Gauteng.

“We call on the minister to immediately increase the number of SAPS Public Order Police, increase the number of police reservists and cooperate with the police and JMPD through the sharing of crime intelligence,” he said.

He urged the police watchdog, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), to investigate police forces who are involved in corruption.

Despite the police minister’s visit to the CBD to monitor the situation, Mmusi believes there is still no decisive action for the national police minister to deal with xenophobic attacks.

“The minister must also explain to South Africans how these xenophobic actions were allowed to escalate to the level of violence and anarchy which they did.

“The time for monitoring the situation is over. We need swift and decisive action from the national government if we are to deal with this scourge of xenophobic violence,” he said.

Maimane claimed that the City of Johannesburg has deployed more than 1,000 law enforcement officers for visibility and monitoring the CBD.

Maimane and City of Joburg public safety MMC Michael Sun briefed the media on their effort to deal with the ongoing violence against foreign nationals in the city centre, He handed over a memorandum over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) demanding urgent action.

SAPS station commander Brigadier Tony Perumal accepted the memorandum and promised urgent action.

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