Johannesburg - The number of foreign nationals who have been arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) between 2016 and 2019 sit at 7841.
The staggering figures were shared by Chief of JMPD David Tembe at the release of the department’s monthly performance results for September 2019.
The Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, Michael Sun, said all the arrests made were before obtaining the person’s nationality and they were not targeting anyone.
“We are not apologetic for sharing information and we are not targeting a race, ethnic or gender and we will continue doing our work despite all the challenges we are experiencing,” said Sun.
The numbers of arrested foreign nationals for offences ranging from assault, bribery, possession of illegal firearms, theft and murder include Nigeria: 765, Congo: 104, Tanzania: 334, Mozambique: 1382, Cameroon: 140, Malawi: 420, Ethiopia: 215 and Zimbabwe: 2865.
The results were only initiated after outgoing Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba came into office.
“For us as a nation to succeed, we need to make tough decisions. You need to take decisions of an unpopular nature and we are prepared to do so,” Mashaba said speaking at the launch.
“One of the pillars we came into office with is to ensure that we deliver service with pride. We are glad that we are finally seeing the results and the JMPD is one of the most respected police agencies in the country currently.”
His last day in the office is November 27 and he said it was the duty of the media and civilians to question the next mayor should the annual report not given as usual.
JMPD officers in respective regions were also awarded and lauded for the work they do in the areas in combating crime and for a stellar performance overall.
Tembe attributed their work ethic to working in a healthy progressive and inspiring environment.