South African police use rubber bullets against Zimbabweans

By Tichaona Sibanda

1 August 2006

Police in South Africa last week resorted to using brutal force in their quest to flush out illegal immigrants allegedly blamed for the recent upsurge in serious crimes.As police intensified their campaign against well armed gangs of robbers in Johannesburg, their conduct in some of the raids is likely to come under mounting scrutiny.

Eyewitnesses to one such raid said police stormed a block of flats, Citrine court in Bellavista, Johannesburg and indiscriminately fired rubber bullets into flats occupied by Zimbabweans. Windows were shattered and doors smashed as heavily armed police fired at the unarmed civilians.

Our correspondent in Johannesburg Thuso Khumalo said most of the immigrants claimed they were wrongfully arrested and made to endure hours of inhumane treatment at the hands of the special forces.

‘This block of flats houses many people from Zimbabwe and reports suggest the raid was planned to target illegal Zimbabwan immigrants,’ Khumalo said.

Human rights lawyers have already expressed concern at the excessive force used and have complained to the authorities over some of the tactics. Many of those arrested during last week’s midnight raids included women and children who were forced to lie face down and naked in sub-zero temperatures.