BOIPATONG .- Outraged residents want the police together with relevant stakeholders to help them remove dozens of illegal Lesotho migrants who stay in a squatter camp just outside their RDP settlement.
Marching peacefully from Boxer shopping centre, scores of marchers sang and chanted as they were accompanied by a police van to meet the management to raise their grievances.
On arrival at the cop shop, the leadership of the marchers engaged top police management behind closed doors to table their memorandum.
Setting out their issues , leaders told cops that illegal migrants have set time for them, alleging that no South African is allowed to be roaming the streets after 18:00.
“Undocumented or illegal migrants are roaming our streets killing our people, raping our women at gun point, doing house robberies, and business robberies too,” read a portion of the memorandum.
The leaders also told police that cases of crime and rising murders in their area are committed by the same illegal migrants.
Engaging police, community leader Jabulani Nhlapo said they fear for their lives.
“Our area is hijacked and we don’t feel safe anymore. We came to the police station to ask for help in removing Lesotho Nationals. All we need is the police and relevant stakeholders to help us in keeping our people safe.”
Ward 11 Councillor Sefatsa Sefatsa told the cops that guns go off every night in the area and that makes them really fear for their lives.
“Just recently, the illegal migrants jumped the streets carrying high caliber machinery and this really got people terrified. I feel helpless knowing I can’t help resident hence I joined the march to make sure that we get help.”
In response to the community’s grievances, Boipatong station commander Lieutenant Colonel Mnini Molotsi received the memorandum.
“There was a memorandum I once received and the leadership of residents didn’t put in their numbers on it. I’m glad now the leadership is here and there are numbers, “he said.
Molotsi said if residents don’t open cases their station won’t know about the cases.
“I’m willing to police the area and even jump to the other areas that aren’t my precinct. We will organize a team that will help you in your area in order for us to curb this spreading problem,” he said.
