Johannnesburg - The city’s metro police department has urged motorists to stop giving window washers money, claiming this is the only way to stop potential violence.
Spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said this was the only way to rid the city’s streets of this problem, which has sometimes escalated into window washers assaulting motorists for cash.
Last week, Prin Naidoo was stabbed numerous times in the head by window washers in Bruma.
A video released recently showing another motorist being attacked in the same area caused outrage on social media, with scores of people calling for serious action. This included a petition calling for the removal of window washers off the streets surrounding the Greenstone shopping centre in Edenvale, which has garnered more than 1000 signatures.
The petition, which has been shared on the Greenstone Hill Community Facebook page, states that motorists are being forced to interact with the window washers, who sometimes resort to violence to get money out of them.
A segment of the petition reads: “The fear for our safety as well as our property is widespread, and our plight has fallen on deaf ears.”
It calls for the JMPD and the Department of Social Development to remove window washers off the streets and relocate them.
Minnaar said these violent incidents had prompted the JMPD to conduct regular patrols.
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