No fewer than 50 foreign nationals, including six Nigerians, were arrested after a clash with the police at Kempton Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Some of the foreign nationals felt their rights were being violated when police searched their flats for illegal weapons, drugs and illegal immigrants.
A Nigerian, Kunle Oyekunbi, said that the police harassed them and took their belongings.
“The police came late in the night. They broke down our doors, they were just harassing everybody once you are a foreigner. They took our belonging and destroyed our property all in the name of searching for drugs and weapons.
“Money was exhorted from those who can afford it, those without money were arrested. Even our food was not spared by the police, we are now left with nothing,’’ Oyekunbi said.
However, South Africa’s Police Service (SAPS) Spokesperson, Katilego Mogale, said nothing was confiscated as the raid was interrupted by the violence.
She said: “some of the foreign nationals were involved in public violence; therefore the police had to detain some of them. The suspects will be appearing in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.”
Meanwhile, more than 150 citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo were arrested on Friday by police and would be charged to court on Monday.
South Africa’s Police Special Task Force arrested the suspects in their homes in Johannesburg after series of clashes between supporters of President Joseph Kabila of the DRC and his opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi.
Police spokesman, Dennis Adriaro, said that the police dispatched a team of detectives to the scene of the incident, following a tip-off and arrested them.
“We followed up and arrested 150 people for public violence after investigation a taskforce of detectives had been formed to investigate the matter,’’ Adriaro said.
He said police had studied the footage of the incident to identify the ring leaders and held an identity parade on Friday.
“People were arrested from both sides. Who a person support is irrelevant to us,’’ he added.