RESIDENTS expressed their anger and frustration to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday.
They told the minister they’d lost hope in the corrupt police in Kagiso, west of Joburg.
They claimed police work hand in hand with foreigners who commit crime.
One resident, a man in his 20s, said cops often raid houses suspected to be drug dens but come out empty-handed.
“They go into a dirty place and come out clean,” he said.
“How long are they going to conduct raids and come back and lie to us that there is nothing wrong?”
Mbalula met the residents at a stadium in Kagiso.
“I need to hear what your concerns are about the police before I blame them for taking the law into their own hands,” he said.
Mbalula was with Mogale City mayor Patrick Lupidi, police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khehla Sitole and other senior cops.
The minister’s visit follows the total shutdown of the area by residents who are concerned about the number of drug dens and brothels in the area.
- Meanwhile, Mbalula relaunched Operation Fiela in Newtown, downtown Joburg, yesterday.
Speaking at the launch, the police minister said the operation was expected to start immediately after the launch.
“As we begin Operation Fiela today, our Operation Safe Season will be faded out.
“This enables us not to leave a vacuum on the streets and in the strategic spaces of our country,” he said.
With the operation in full swing, said Mbalula, the police will go from street to street busting criminals.
“We will encroach on their spaces,” said Mbalula.
“We will squeeze them!”
