Diepsloot Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to members of the media in the North West. Photo: Twitter @CyrilRamaphosa

‘It’s apartheid ways!’ Ramaphosa slams ‘hunting’ of foreigners in Diepsloot

The apartheid way?!
President Cyril Ramaphosa has hit out at the Police’s questioning of foreigners in Diepsloot.

Diepsloot Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to members of the media in the North West. Photo: Twitter @CyrilRamaphosa

With over 50 arrests being made in Diepsloot since protests in the area began this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa is not mincing his words. Despite community members expressing their anger over crime in the area, Ramaphosa is not happy with the treatment of foreigners. This week, a Zimbabwean man was killed by a group of residents demanding to see people’s passports.

Apartheid: Cyril Ramaphosa weighs in on Diepsloot tensions

Ramaphosa is spending his Saturday at a Presidential Imbizo in the Free State. With so many journalists around, he was unable to escape more questions about Diepsloot.

Since the Zimbabwean man was killed in the area by an angry mob, Police have been seen questioning people on their nationality. In one case, police have been seen asking residents to identify parts of their bodies in various South African languages.

Ramaphosa is not at all pleased with the police’s actions. According to the president, it’s going back to the “apartheid way of doing things.”

“We cannot accept behaviour like that. Where people are hunted down in that way and asked questions in that way about their own identity. Because it takes us back to the apartheid way of doing things. And we are now in a democracy.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa

From Diepsloot to Joe Biden to Ukraine

Despite his busy schedule, Ramaphosa and US President Joe Biden found time for a call on Friday.

Ramaphosa and Biden covered a wide range of topics during their call. From the Ukraine war, to trade and climate change, it seems it all got a mention.

But with the US standing firmly in Ukraine’s corner and SA standing firmly in the “not taking sides” realm, one would think things might have gotten a bit awkward. According to Ramaphosa, certain “views” were shared about the war.

By the end of it all, Biden was certainly happy about the call. He bragged to journalists that Ramaphosa had told him to “keep it up” after the US confirmed its first black woman Supreme Court judge.