Patrolling cops are Rosettenville brothel's best customers

The police patrolling the streets of Rosettenville, southern Johannesburg, are said to be among the best customers of a local brothel.

This is according to a group of sex workers who operate from one of three houses attacked by Rosettenville residents at the weekend.

"They are our biggest clients but when the people make riots here, they make it seem like we are the most disgusting people around," said a prostitute who has had years of experience in the sex trade.

"Sometimes one [policeman] will drop another one off from a van. He will drive the van up and down until the one inside [the brothel] is finished and then pick him up. This is while they are on duty."

Another girl said the police are some of her biggest clients - and are sometimes willing to pay extra for her services.

"There are many police officers I communicate with on my phone. Some even ask me out," she said.

"Police say they love the prostitutes because they never ask for money for the rent or a hair-do."

The girls are livid because locals on Sunday went to the house from which they work, tossed their belongings outside and torched them.

Beds, bedding, TV sets, music systems, clothes and money were among the possessions they lost.

Locals say they have decided to take a stand against what they say are drug dens and brothels run by Nigerians.

A community leader, Simphiwe Hlafa, alleges that foreigners have in recent weeks started evicting elderly people living in old houses by claiming that they are the rightful owners of the houses.

"The community has decided to say that enough is enough," said Hlafa.

In a bid to reclaim and clean up the area, the angry residents marched to some of the identified hotspots.

The working girls say they were powerless when the locals pounced.

They directed scathing criticism at the police for failing to protect them from the locals, even though no drugs or other illegal substances were found in their house.

"Is there anything that says that prostitutes are illegal? Prostitutes started in the Bible already," said one woman, who had a rosary dangling from her neck.

"We are just trying to make a living for ourselves."

The women claim to be legal tenants, each paying R2,000 a month for a room to a Nigerian caretaker.

They say the owner of the house is a South African.

"[The community] thought that this house had been hijacked, just like others, but it's not," the women said.

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has visited the area and has promised to deal with the concerns of the community.

In the meantime, though, it is back to business for the prostitutes.

One said the community's efforts to stop them working had motivated them to work harder.

Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini was unavailable for comment.