The crime operation conducted in central Johannesburg, in which more than 200 people were arrested, was not targeted at Zimbabweans, said Community Safety MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu on Saturday.
He said the 245 people arrested on Friday, included South Africans and they were charged with loitering, public indecency and public disorder.
The arrests took place on Friday night outside the Central Methodist Church and the Johannesburg High Court.
Mosunkutu said plans were underway to relocate the foreign nationals to another area.
"The issue here is not the foreign nationals who need shelter. The issue is the fact that there are hundreds of people living on the street in front of businesses and blocking the court entrance."
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"When you have a situation where a judge can't get into the building because of people blocking the entrance, something needs to be done," he said.
Mosunkutu added that his office was open to discuss concerns that the Legal Resources Centre and the Lawyers for Human Rights had brought up about the events on Friday night.
This was after the organisations jointly issued a statement condemning the arrests.
They said the only crime the people had committed was to be destitute and without shelter.
"We express concern at reports that a number of people sustained injuries during the arrests," their statement said.
Metro police senior Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the people were arrested for loitering and sleeping on the pavements.
He said the arrests followed numerous complaints from the high court and business owners in the city.
Of the people arrested, men were being released after each paid a R300 admission of guilt fine while women and children were let off on warnings.
The men who did not have the money to pay the fine would appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday. - Sapa
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