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Mashaba visits Joburg CBD after riots, blames Home Affairs

Herman Mashaba
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Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba says he intends to hold the Department of Home Affairs responsible for the attack on police allegedly by a crowd of foreigners in the CBD.

Mashaba says attacks  cannot be accepted and would be less prominent if the Department kept a close eye on South African borders.

On Thursday, members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were met with hostility when they attempted to evict illegal traders in the Johannesburg CBD.

In a video that has since gone viral, a police nyala is seen to be reversing as it is pelted with rocks.

Mashaba has visited the area and says he’s disappointed no arrests were made.

“I’m going to hold Home Affairs accountable to make sure that everyone who is in this country has got documentation. We are going to hold Home Affairs accountable. They are the ones who’ve created this mess. If our borders were closed, we would not be sitting with this chaos that we’re seeing here.”

Police have explained their reaction to Thursday’s riots in the Joburg CBD saying they were forced to withdraw after protesting informal traders started throwing petrol bombs and rocks.

Police Spokesperson, Kay Makhubele says, “We were about to conduct a raid in one of the buildings in the area when this group of people started throwing stones, petrol bombs, where police had to use rubber bullets just to push them back. Unfortunately, they would not stop throwing stones. We had to withdraw tactically because we realised that it can end up costing more.”

Watch video below for more on the story:

 

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