Over 300 in dock after shops looted

167 24.05.2013 Foreign shop owners collets his groceries as he leaves Orange Farm township, looting spree erupted in the Vaal and some parts of south Gauteng. Dozens of shops were also looted last night in the Vaal. Picture: Itumeleng English

167 24.05.2013 Foreign shop owners collets his groceries as he leaves Orange Farm township, looting spree erupted in the Vaal and some parts of south Gauteng. Dozens of shops were also looted last night in the Vaal. Picture: Itumeleng English

Published May 28, 2013

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Johannesburg - Hundreds of people appeared in the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court on Monday over last week’s widespread looting of foreign-owned shops in Orange Farm, Sebokeng and Evaton.

As the more than 300 arrested faced charges for offences including breaking and entering, property damage and looting, Pakistani shopowner Mohammed Mojlykobitlaj was in Elandsfontein, south of Joburg, wondering what he was going to do and where he was going to move.

Mojlykobitlaj packed up the few remaining items in his shop into a bakkie and drove away on Friday morning.

On Monday morning, he attempted to return to his tuckshop in order to move the container elsewhere, but police officers in the area said it wasn’t safe for him to be there.

“They told me to come back in two weeks,” Mojlykobitlaj said.

He said police would alert him when the area had settled and it would be okay for him to return.

Mojlykobitlaj plans to move away from Orange Farm, where he had stayed for the past two years, forever.

The targeted attacks resulted in the widespread looting of tuckshops in the area.

Police said there were no reported injuries.

Spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the apparent cause was linked to mob violence carried over from a service delivery protest.

Police had yet to confirm community rumours that allege a Sebokeng man was shot by a Pakistani.

 

Community members, foreign shopowners and police agree that arrests might not placate the crowd of people who participated in the looting.

“It’s a lot of people, I cannot even tell you how many. When there is a break-in like that, people are walking up and down and doing funny things,” said Sergeant Simon Mofokatsane, spokesman for the Sebokeng police cluster.

Lerato Magida, who lives next to Mojlykobitlaj’s shop, said the arrests were not punishment enough for the looting.

She added that the situation currently felt calmer in Orange Farm – but despite this, Mojlykobitlaj is scared to return.

He just wants to take his container and move away.

“What must I do now? Those people in Orange Farm will kill me,” he said.

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The Star

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