“We are carrying out a clean-up operation targetting the informal trade and illegal migrant contingent in Johannesburg,” said a Metro police recruit who did not want to be named.
This as Metro police descended on traders along Jeppe Street, confiscating their wares.
One trader, known only as Yolan, who is an Ethiopian perating a small stand, expressed his distaste of what he described as a ‘malicious attack’. He claimed that small-time crooks also grabbed the chance to loot and steal.
“They [Metro police] were aggressive and 80 per cent of them weren’t even identifiable as they weren’t in uniform,” he stated furiously. “They caught my brother and punched him so many times [that] he was bleeding. We don’t know what they are going to do – if they are going to share the stuff or what? We don’t know if they’re tsotsis [criminals] or what,” he added, questioning their intent.
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