Diepsloot residents demand that foreigners 'behave or leave SA'

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Johannesburg - Violence and looting of shops erupted in Diepsloot when angry commuters demanded that foreign nationals “behave or leave the country” following the murder of a police captain at the weekend. Captain Oupa Matjie was allegedly shot by a foreign national as he responded after a robbery tip-off . Fed-up residents took to the streets in the early hours of Thursday barricading roads with cow skulls, stalls, burning tyres and stones. They demanded justice for the captain described as “a good servant of his community”. Community leader Mogomotsi Morake said they always protected foreign nationals when they committed crime from being stoned by the community, but the killing of their police captain was a “wake-up call to fight crime”.

“They killed a police officer who was doing his job going to arrest criminals. We will show them how crazy we can be. This is our community and we will protect our servants as much as they protect us.

“We want these foreigners to be physically removed from our community. The government must do something or else someone will pay,” he said.

Morake said the captain had received a tip-off from other residents about a robbery that was about to take place. He rushed to the scene only to be shot by one of the five suspects.

“Two weeks ago, they were involved in shoplifting. The community wanted to stone them to death but we spoke to the shop owners and reached a common ground now they are doing this; acting like animals. They shot a police officer who always responded to our calls. When we went to the police station he was the first to come and help,” said Morake.

Two of the five suspects in the killing of Matjie were arrested on the scene. One of them appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of house robbery and attempted murder while the other suspect was in hospital.

The other suspects were apprehended earlier this week.

The protest that started as a “fight for justice” for Matjie turned violent when the mob started looting shops that led to one resident “being shot”.

The Star