DURBAN – Dozens of Diepsloot residents argued with security officials at the gate of the Youth Centre Hall over access to a stakeholder meeting about conditions in the area amid the recent protests and escalating murder rate.
Police Minister Bheki Cele, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and senior SAPS officials were at the meeting. Reporters on the ground indicated media representatives were not allowed.
In the video, a group of women were seen trying to force their way into the meeting while a woman inside the gate did her best to calm down the disgruntled community members.
Members of the #Diepsloot community locked out of a stakeholder meeting under way at the local Youth Center, force their their way in. Police Minister, Bheki Cele, Commission Fannie Masemola, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi are in the meeting. #SABCNews #OperationDudula pic.twitter.com/RdpjHjWcFb
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) April 8, 2022
Since the last weekend, around seven people have been murdered in Diepsloot.
With no progress has been made in the process of catching the killers, residents vowed to bring the area to a halt and embarked on a shutdown at the start of the week, forcing Cele to descend on Diepsloot.
Cele visited the area on Wednesday, where he made promises which included beefing up Diepsloot’s police station with cars and a group of detectives. He also said he would root out corruption among police officers in Diepsloot.
But Cele’s promises weren’t enough to bring calm as things took an ugly turn later that evening, when Elvis Nyathi, a 43-year-old Zimbabwean national, was stoned and burnt to death by a mob.
Nyathi’s death added fuel to an already raging fire, which is ushering in new levels of segregation among people in the country. Residents even took to social media to compare how many South Africans were killed and how many foreigners died.
The 16 vehicles which Cele promised were delivered on Thursday. At least 27 suspected undocumented foreign national citizens were arrested overnight, with more arrests made yesterday morning, according to local reports.
HAPPENING NOW:
More foreign nationals believed to be illegal in the country have been arrested in #Diepsloot.#SABCNEWS pic.twitter.com/6t1SBvasds
SAPS and JMPD officers were seen making arrests in Diepsloot, one who appeared to be a shop owner and another of a person at home.
IOL