Olievenhoutbosch residents protest against cops accused of working with criminals

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Pretoria - Angry residents of Olievenhoutbosch have resumed last night's protests against the local police accused of working with criminal foreign nationals. This morning they set alight tyres on various streets while police in Nyalas kept firing rounds of rubber bullets to keep them away from the busy R55 road. Furious with police conduct, community leaders said they had to force the police to arrest a foreign national who had faked documents for a child to be admitted into Philena Primary School. They said the Malawian man was bust in his home last Tuesday, and he was found allegedly with equipment to produce fake motorbike licence discs and school reports. "What angered us is that we had to force the police to arrest him and they didn't want to.

"The people in the area then told us that the police went to his house in vans to collect money regularly.

"We had to push to get someone from the Department of Community Safety to get the police to make an arrest and open a case.

"However, after a few days, the man was released back into the community.

"When we went to his home we found that all his equipment was given back to him.

"Our sources in the police station, the good police officers, whispered to us that he paid an R8 500 bribe to get his stuff back. This is evidence for god's sake!

"We went and took it back. We are keeping it safe for the Minister of Police Bheki Cele. We don't trust those police there. They are rotten," said an angry leader who asked not to be named.

The community said what angered them to take action was finding out that the accused (allegedly) sent threats to teachers at the school who recognised documents as being fake.

"This person said the teachers must stop rejecting foreign national kids or he'll burn the school.

"That's why we're angry. This is to protect our teachers, our children and our schooling infrastructure.

"We cannot, and we will not, sit back and listen to foreign nationals tell us what to do in our own country.

"We as South Africans cannot go to their countries and do or say things like this. We are fighting to protect what is ours but these police are failing us. We want Minister Cele to come visit us here just as he visited Diepsloot residents," he added.

Another group of community leaders went inside the police station to have a meeting with members of the provincial police communications team.

Meanwhile, outside, protests continued. People kept gathering and burning tyres and stalls built by informal traders with wood and plastic.

Those who were injured nursed their rubber bullet wounds.

Pretoria News