Scores of members of Pakistan South Africa Association (PSAA) hosted a peaceful march to the PRD Building in Mthatha, requesting the police to act swiftly and arrest the criminals who attack them.
The president of PSAA, Muhammad Latif Chishti, said foreign nationals in Mthatha and the Eastern Cape at large, had been targeted by criminal elements and had been hijacked and abducted.
“This has also occurred elsewhere in the country, especially KZN and Gauteng. We call on the minister of police as well as state security to take urgent action and put an end to these criminal acts,” said Chrishti.
He added that they were law-abiding citizens and business people who wanted to contribute to the improvement of the local economy through creating jobs, skills transfer and capacity building. He added that they could not live and prosper under conditions of constant fear.
According to Chrishti, for a number of years, many of them had been living in fear of their lives, their properties and their families, as hijackings and armed robbery took root in the community of Mthatha and its surrounds.
He added that they did not want to take the law into their own hands and wanted to co-operate with the safety and security cluster to ensure that everyone was safe.
One of the business owners, Mamu Daniels, said he had been robbed many times but nothing happened, even though he reported the cases.
“We appeal to the police to protect us and make sure that the criminals are brought to book,” said Daniels. Supervisor for Khulisa Holdings and Security, Mzingisi Divolo, said all the people needed to be protected by the law.
“We don’t want people who break the law; that is why we appeal to the police to arrest those criminals.
“If we are saying these business owners should go back to their countries it means the economy of our areas would drop and there are people who would lose their jobs,” said Divolo.
The petition was signed by Colonel Patisile Majaja, who made it clear that he was the second in charge, behind Acting District Commissioner, Brigadier Vukile Ntandane. Majaja said, as the members of the SAPS, their responsibility was to protect everyone and their properties. He said they did that without any favouritism.
“We all treat you equally whether you are born here or not. What we need from you going forward is to have partnership with you so that we could work together,” said Majaja.
He said that the protestors would receive written feedback shortly.
