/ 27 February 2017

Jeppestown: Police stop and search after night of looting

On Monday afternoon the police conducted stop and searches on foreign nationals and South Africans in residential areas near Jeppestown in an attempt to recover looted goods.

Police have maintained a heavy presence in Jeppestown amid speculation of a looming second round of attacks on foreign nationals. The high alert comes after shops were looted in the area on Sunday night near Denver hostel.

Tigistu Meniso, an Ethiopian shop owner, told the Mail & Guardian that the attacks on Sunday made him fear for his life.

“These people will kill me. I do not feel safe anymore. I just want to recover my stuff and leave this place. I cannot die because we people want a fridge or baked beans,” Meniso said.

“These people talk about drugs and prostitution. Have you seen prostitution happen in a spars shop? No. These are desperate acts of crime”, he continued.

Next to Tigisto’s shop, two South African women, who run a fast food store, were also attacked when the violence sparked. Nosipho Dlamini said her store was damaged by people who normally greet her every day.

“They went in as savages not asking whether you are South African or not. The people around here know me. We greet each other on a daily basis. But when the looting happened last night they didn’t even know who I was. On any other day I sell them food,” said

“They came in and beat both my sister and I up. Demanding our shoes and phones. These clothes that my sister and are wearing right now that little of oil are the only things we have left”, she continued.

On Monday, onlookers from the Denver hostel continued to hurl insults at foreign nationals and threatened to attack once the police presence dies down.

It was reported on Sunday evening that around 9pm a large group of men threatened violence against foreign nationals and looted their stores in Jeppestown and surrounding areas.

The attacks were deemed to be xenophobic following the violence that has transpired in Tshwane and Rosettenville over the last few weeks.