Another man beaten – residents support ‘clean-up’ campaign
Many residents of the city were waiting for transportation this week as taxi drivers took to the streets to continue their ‘clean-up’ campaign.
POLOKWANE – Review recently reported that taxi drivers and some commuters have taken extreme action against people they believe to be drug dealers.
In the most recent incident, a Nigerian national believed to be a drug dealer was assaulted at his home in Bulawayo Street. The man was allegedly removed from his home and was subjected to assault. A stick used during the assault was found on the scene.
Several items belonging to the man was also flung out of his home and strewn outside the premises.
A bystander told Review the police do not take residents seriously when they inform the police about suspected drug dens. They have since resorted to reporting the people they suspect of dealing drugs to taxi operators.
“I have children in this school and this man is one of a few selling tablets and nyaope to children making them drug addicts. I support what the taxi drivers are doing and I for one will never give the police any information on what they are doing and where they are doing it,” the man told Review.
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Another resident, Edna, who relies on taxis for transportation said she does not mind the effect the clean-up campaign has on taxi operations. Commuters often have to wait for taxis because the operators are ‘cleaning up the streets’.
Residents sit patiently and wait for taxis to arrive.
“We all know what they are doing and because we agree with what they are doing we will wait, no matter how long it takes. They are doing good work cleaning the streets of drug dealers and we support them. We are all family and we all want the criminal elements off the streets,” she said.
Polokwane Police Spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, told Review the police have been meeting with 32 members from 32 taxi associations on the vigilantism and that more meetings will follow. He said the police are following the reports as they come in but they need residents to report the crimes and not take the law into their own hands. He said the Provincial Police Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Moatshe Ngoepe, is the relevant person to comment on the issue as there have been other cases in and around Polokwane and in Mankweng, and this has become a provincial issue. Lt. Col. Ngoepe could not be reached for comment.
Read more: ‘We are cleaning the streets of Polokwane ourselves’
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