By Mr Lee
news@alexreporter.co.za
Scores of foreign nationals, especially from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, have been removed from their rooms in ext 8, and some South Aricans were allocated the rooms.
According to reports, some foreigners have already fled due to their fear of being attacked.
A South African businessman, whose nyatsi was staying in Ext 7 before she was allegedly removed, told Alex Reporter that the removal was also happening to South Africans.
“My girlfriend, whom I father kids with, is South African, but she was removed and her belongings were mercilessly thrown outside,” he claimed.
In the search for answers, Alex Reporter visited Rasta Village where a group of South Africans held a meeting. Our intention was to find out if Dudula had returned and also understand how the group operate.
One of the leaders, Moshe Mhlongo, said they were a community of Alex comprised of different stakeholders, including PAC and BBL (Bring Back Land).
He said the influx of undocumented foreigners was uncontrollable, blaming the government for doing nothing about it.
He stated that they were not Dudula and their operation was considerably different from that of Dudula.
He informed our news team that the part of the meeting was to request his members to refrain from looting or stealing when removing people.
He said they invited the police, the councillor, and other stakeholders with the aim of working with them and not taking matters into their own hands.
“This is different from Dudula, we don’t have criminal elements in our operation. The intention is to keep South Africa clean. We are not being xenophobic or perpetrating violence. But what we want is for our brothers and sisters to be documented and have permits,” he said.
Asked if they were taking houses forcefully, he said, “We are not taking houses forcefully. We give them notices, but there are some instances where a person would resist eviction and we are forced to enforce it forcefully. You can’t go to Zimbabwe and have an RDP there as a South African.
“This is our homeland, this is our plantation, we must benefit here, they must also benefit at their home. After removing them, we reallocate the houses to the rightful people of South Africa. If you are a South African, you are actually privileged to inherit a home.
“We are not going to fear anything. This is South Africa for South Africans; we are not buying it. If we buy it, we are saying that the future of our children must go to hell.”
He said there were other areas they were focusing around Alex, but Rasta Village in ext 8 was the top of the list, adding that a number of crimes allegedly committed by undocumented foreign nationals in the area was shocking.
It has been almost two months since the group began removing people.”We have allocated 70 houses to people in a space of less than two months.”
They also destroyed some shacks erected near the Juskei River in an effort to prevent unnecessary deaths during rainy seasons.
Mhlongo issued a warning to his members who were allegedly stealing after removing people.
“Crime is crime, we will have a serious problem and the law will have to deal with them.”
He said they were open to anyone and invited other residents to visit them so that they could understand how they operate rather than judging from a distance.
Colonel Ngubane and sector manager Mbalati, arrived and advised the group to have a formal structure and involve departments like home affairs, police, and human settlement.
Mhlongo said apparatus from removing people, they were constructing a house for an elderly woman due to the government’s failure to do it.
