Social media on Cape Town protests & 'police brutality': 'This is horrifying'
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Image: Elvis Ntombela
Social media users have accused police of brutality after Wednesday's clashes between the SAPS and foreigners in Cape Town.
Refugees and asylum seekers staged a sit-in outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHRC) offices in Waldorf Arcade, St George's Mall.
The foreigners, fearing xenophobic attacks, are demanding relocation to another country.
SA police used water cannons and made a number of arrests during an operation to disperse protesting refugees on October 30 2019. About 100 refugees and asylum seekers were arrested after staging a prolonged sit-in outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) offices in Waldorf Arcade, Cape Town, police said.The foreigners have been camping outside the offices for weeks, asking to be relocated from SA, where they say they do not feel safe.The refugees want to be repatriated to their home countries or moved elsewhere, after a spate of xenophobic riots and attacks in September, which left at least 10 people dead.
On Wednesday, police arrested about 100 protesters, after obtaining a court order to evict them, TimesLIVE reported.
Patient Kazadi, 27, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said he had not been notified of the eviction until Wednesday. He accused the police of being violent and xenophobic.
“Today they sent police and law enforcement to get us out of here ... There’s one woman lying down here, they didn’t even call an ambulance. There’s another guy inside, bleeding. And they say, we’re not xenophobic. They are. They are xenophobic.”
Scenes from the protest are being widely shared on social media, with scores calling for violence-free policing in handling the situation.
Here's a glimpse into the reactions:
It takes one abusive police officer to tarnish the reputations of many. What appears to be a City of Cape Town official punches woman in face (0.01) then kicks person on ground (0.12). Colleagues ignore him. Outside UN office in CT today. @CityofCT @SAHRCommission @Abramjee pic.twitter.com/qLwLKEPijE
— Andrew Faull (@AGFaull) October 30, 2019
Refugees are requesting to leave South Africa because xenophobia its still not criminalized in SA and so they’re having a demonstration in Cape Town only to be brutalized by the police
— mfaz’omnyama. (@mfazomnyama_) October 30, 2019
Mother & Child seperation should be deemed a crime against humanity!
This hurts😭
🎥@BMunyati pic.twitter.com/j0ZKRI2cmj
What is going on in Cape Town is a true reflection on what this country thinks of black bodies. Absolutely horrifying!
— abdul hamid carrim (@baymath) October 30, 2019
We call Cape Town City the "Mother City", what a joke! @CityofCT #Refugees rights are #HumanRights! Where is the leadership when daughter and mother are treated like this? Girl is thrown into a police van? @CyrilRamaphosa @AmnestySAfrica @Refugees @SABCNewsOnline pic.twitter.com/VMEmomq1bD
— Bob Mwiinga Munyati (@BMunyati) October 30, 2019
A refugee at the protest in Cape Town today 💔 Disgusting behavior. Ripping babies away from their mothers like that is beyond inexcusable.
— Keri (@kerifromCPT) October 30, 2019
The police brutality happening in Cape Town is absolutely disgusting and we should really look a policing as whole because they never treat people like people any protest had in this country. It’s absolutely despicable #Refugees
— Most UnKool (@LloydGrey) October 30, 2019
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Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 