There was hardly a peep in Alexandra township the moments before police conducted a full-scale raid on residents of Madala Hostel in the dying hours of Wednesday night.
It was a tense affair in Alexandra when police commenced with the raid on the hostel an hour and a half behind schedule.
The raid was aimed at finding and confiscating dangerous weapons.
The raid follows a raid in a Jeppestown hostel on Tuesday night‚ in response to violence believed to be linked to xenophobia.
It also follows killing of Mozambican national Emmanuel Sithole over the weekend in Alexandra.
Residents of the hostel were compliant with the raid‚ indicating that most had little to hide from the police that night.
Police tightly surrounded members of the media who accompanied them into the hotels many units as they searched for unlicensed weapons‚ drugs and goods believed to be stolen.
As police moved in‚ the army as well as the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department were present outside the hostel for support.
A few items were found in the hostel before police proceeded with a “stop and search” operation on the streets of the township until 4am.
Before the raid‚ the mood around the hostel was calm‚ other than the occasional noise in celebration of Kaizer Chiefs’ victory against Polokwane City.
Residents of the township say the operation could not have come too soon.
Mshimi‚ an Alexandra resident‚ said he hoped the raid and police presence would normalise the situation in the township.
“We hope it will restore peace because that is all we want. We know they did this in Jeppestown and we think they have no choice but to follow through and do it here‚” he said.
One hostel resident said she did not mind the raid as long as brought an end to the tension in the community. “It’s not right for people to be killing others but at least we feel safe when the police are around.”
Alex hostel residents compliant during police raid
There was hardly a peep in Alexandra township the moments before police conducted a full-scale raid on residents of Madala Hostel in the dying hours of Wednesday night.
It was a tense affair in Alexandra when police commenced with the raid on the hostel an hour and a half behind schedule.
The raid was aimed at finding and confiscating dangerous weapons.
The raid follows a raid in a Jeppestown hostel on Tuesday night‚ in response to violence believed to be linked to xenophobia.
It also follows killing of Mozambican national Emmanuel Sithole over the weekend in Alexandra.
Residents of the hostel were compliant with the raid‚ indicating that most had little to hide from the police that night.
Police tightly surrounded members of the media who accompanied them into the hotels many units as they searched for unlicensed weapons‚ drugs and goods believed to be stolen.
As police moved in‚ the army as well as the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department were present outside the hostel for support.
A few items were found in the hostel before police proceeded with a “stop and search” operation on the streets of the township until 4am.
Before the raid‚ the mood around the hostel was calm‚ other than the occasional noise in celebration of Kaizer Chiefs’ victory against Polokwane City.
Residents of the township say the operation could not have come too soon.
Mshimi‚ an Alexandra resident‚ said he hoped the raid and police presence would normalise the situation in the township.
“We hope it will restore peace because that is all we want. We know they did this in Jeppestown and we think they have no choice but to follow through and do it here‚” he said.
One hostel resident said she did not mind the raid as long as brought an end to the tension in the community. “It’s not right for people to be killing others but at least we feel safe when the police are around.”