The EFF lashed out at police for the alleged manner in which they conducted themselves in the township, north of Johannesburg.
“This is what led to the murder of our people in Boipatong in the early 1990s. If you couldn’t say Ndololwane you get killed. And now if you can’t say elbow in Xitsonga you get arrested.
“The people are perpetuating the criminalisation of our people based on how they look, based on the texture of the hair and colour of their skin and based on their dialect. The police must not sink to the level of vigilante groups simply to please them,” said spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also condemned the police’s “apartheid-style” approach of asking foreign nationals to produce identity documents.
“We cannot accept behaviour like that where people are hunted down in that way and asked questions about their identity, because it takes us back to the apartheid way of doing things,” Ramaphosa said on Saturday before a presidential imbizo in Bloemfontein.
“We are in a democracy and we should be restrained and respect the rights of people in our country.”
On social media, many expressed their views on the matter.
Here is a snapshot of what they had to say:
What is the word for elbow in xiTsonga? — outrage at police's alleged nationality checks
Image: Screenshot
Many people have expressed outrage at police allegedly identifying foreigners by whether they can name body parts in SA languages.
A viral video showed police officers allegedly asking a resident in Diepsloot what an elbow is called in xiTsonga.
Police are alleged to have arrested those who failed to identify body parts.
The EFF lashed out at police for the alleged manner in which they conducted themselves in the township, north of Johannesburg.
“This is what led to the murder of our people in Boipatong in the early 1990s. If you couldn’t say Ndololwane you get killed. And now if you can’t say elbow in Xitsonga you get arrested.
“The people are perpetuating the criminalisation of our people based on how they look, based on the texture of the hair and colour of their skin and based on their dialect. The police must not sink to the level of vigilante groups simply to please them,” said spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also condemned the police’s “apartheid-style” approach of asking foreign nationals to produce identity documents.
“We cannot accept behaviour like that where people are hunted down in that way and asked questions about their identity, because it takes us back to the apartheid way of doing things,” Ramaphosa said on Saturday before a presidential imbizo in Bloemfontein.
“We are in a democracy and we should be restrained and respect the rights of people in our country.”
On social media, many expressed their views on the matter.
Here is a snapshot of what they had to say:
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