Diepsloot lockdown: Police raid homes, arrest undocumented foreigners [video]

Diepsloot has been the scene of unrest for about a week. A special task team has been deployed to the township to get things under control and it seems a crucial part of their mandate is to remove all undocumented foreigners.

Undocumented foreigners taken in for questioning

The trail of last week’s destruction in the township left Police Minister Bheki Cele with no choice but to respond by deploying a team of police officers to contain the violence. A special task team was also formed with the mandate of searching every housing structure in Diepsloot and arresting undocumented foreign nationals.

On Monday, the team of police officers descended into the township with a convoy of large police vans. Homes and businesses were raided and foreign nationals, believed to be in South Africa illegally, were taken into police custody for questioning.

pic.twitter.com/UtiMYqJEZX

— Man’s Kalanga ?? (@ndlovu_onwell) January 27, 2020

Situation in Diepsloot, foreign nationals without documents..@AdvoBarryRoux pic.twitter.com/nBUeCMN8Bp

— Skop n donor (@Gavin_Malematja) January 27, 2020

Thanks minister Bheki Cele now police are all over Diepsloot looking for undocumented immigrant. pic.twitter.com/xm0qZr9Rpr

— Thembikhaya (@Thembik65789792) January 27, 2020

At this time, there has been no indication from the police on what will be done with the arrested foreign nationals.

Where does all of this stem from?

The Diepsloot community descended into chaos in the week of Monday, 20 January, shortly after a revered police officer, Captain Oupa Matjie, was killed by five suspects believed to be foreign nationals.

For residents of the township situated north of Johannesburg, this was the last straw. Community leaders complained that if the government did nothing about unruly and undocumented foreign nationals, they could be forced to take matters into their own hands.

Rumours of a Diepsloot shutdown started doing the rounds on social media when the police had not descended into the township by the weekend.

The chain messages alleged that the police minister had not held true to his word and that the community had no other choice but to deal decisively with the matter.

However, in a joint statement issued by the Ministries of Police and Home Affairs, Cele and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi rubbished claims that were made in these chain messages that were spreading on social media.

“The report that is circulating must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. I want to urge the community of Diepsloot to not allow themselves to be influenced by such malice but rather to allow the police to do its work,” Cele pleaded in the statement.

It looks like Cele has followed up on his word because on Monday afternoon, a large contingent of members from the Tactical Response Team (TRT), the Public Order Police Unit, K9 Unit as well as several members from Visible Policing, was seen descending into the township.

There have been no updates on the lockdown operation, as yet.