Tembisa cops doing nothing to protect hostel residents against armed criminals - EFF

22 June 2016

Johannesburg - The EFF has again condemned the police in Tembisa for their handling of violence which broke out at the Sethokga Hostel on Tuesday afternoon.

"We condemn, in the strongest terms, the Tembisa police who are doing nothing, despite all efforts to involve them in order to dispel the situation and protect ordinary and unarmed people," Economic Freedom Fighters spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.

He said groups of men had gone around the hostel carrying weapons and attacking residents, and that police were doing nothing about the situation.

The party was in Tembisa on Tuesday to visit the families of two EFF members - Tsietsi Mothibe, 56, and Kenneth Monjomani, 39 - who both died in hospital after being attacked by hostel residents during door-to-door campaigning in May and June.

On Tuesday evening, EFF members were again attacked by armed men at the hostel, Ndlozi said.

He said criminals living in the hostel had waited for the sun to set and then started raiding all other hostel blocks where residents associated with the EFF lived, injuring 33 people.

"The criminals of Block 24 seem to be on a drive, attacking all Pedi speaking people, including old women who know nothing about political tensions," he said.

He called the perpetrators thugs who would not listen to reason.

"We call on the provincial and national police to urgently intervene before more lives are lost in Sethokga Hostel, Tembisa. We call on law enforcement officers with integrity to be deployed to the hostel to ensure that those who have taken the law into their hands, who are now law unto themselves, are arrested," said Ndlozi.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.