Foreign shop owners and those who took part in, or witnessed, the looting of those shops last week described how police actively stole goods and helped others raid the shops during the worst attacks on foreigners South Africa has seen in seven years, City Press reports.
An estimated 120 foreign-owned or foreign-run shops were looted in Soweto and nearby Kagiso last week. Foreigners have described how some police officers told them to “go back to where you come from”, demanded bribes to do their jobs and helped themselves to goods on the shelves, including airtime and cool drinks.
Widespread reports of criminal and xenophobic behavior by some police officers tasked with stopping the looting in Soweto fly in the face of statements made by Gauteng police commissioner Joel Mothiba and Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane that what took place in Soweto during the course of last week was “criminal and not xenophobic”.
While looting was continuing in Soweto on Thursday, Mothiba told a press conference that the situation was “under control”.
Yesterday, 10 young Soweto residents in different parts of the township, who admitted to taking part in the looting, told City Press that the police had helped them do it.
Cop caught on camera participating in Soweto looting…