Vehicles allegedly belonging to foreign nationals have been torched in Orlando West, Soweto, while several others have been vandalised amid escalating tensions between residents and foreign nationals accused of operating spaza shops in the area.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to Newsnote said tensions escalated after foreign nationals allegedly opened fire on residents who were demanding that they vacate their shops.
Residents said they had marched to the Department of Home Affairs to protest against the continued presence of undocumented foreign nationals in the area.
They also raised concerns about a Constitutional Court judgment concerning asylum seekers, which found that asylum applicants cannot simply be deported without being given access to the asylum system, regardless of how they entered the country.
Community leader Tshepo Mposulo claimed that foreign nationals had fired shots at residents before the vehicles were set alight.
“As you can see, these are their cars that have been set alight. They came here and they were armed. They started firing shots at the residents,” Mposulo said.
He alleged that metro police officers intervened and returned fire, prompting the alleged shooters to flee.
“Now you are having a situation of foreigners who are armed in the country, and that has angered the residents. They started torching their cars,” he said.
Newsnote observed residents looting a spaza shop while Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers were present. The circumstances surrounding the officers’ response to the looting were not immediately clear.
Another community leader, Musa Hlongwa, said she had joined the march in support of Soweto residents and their concerns about Home Affairs.
“We don’t want people who are illegal and foreigners to be prioritised over our people. Home Affairs was open until midnight yesterday because they are ready to serve other people, but when you are a South African, they will tell you they are closed,” Hlongwa said.
The situation remained tense in Orlando West, with law enforcement officers monitoring developments.
