Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba will request an urgent investigation into claims that prostitutes in Rosettenville are being “supported by officers from Moffat View Police Station”.

He said this emerged on Sunday night when he visited the area “after I was informed that community members had set fire to three homes and one tavern believed to operate as alleged brothels and drug dens”.

“According to community members‚ these homes are illegally occupied by Nigerian foreign nationals who run these homes as brothels and have girls as young as nine years old working as prostitutes.

“Many of the women in these brothels are also alleged to have no official identification documentation.

“Some of these woman who work as prostitutes told me that the brothels are supported by officers from Moffat View Police Station.”

Mashaba said he would be contacting Gauteng police commissioner Major General De Lange to “request an urgent investigation into these claims”.

The mayor acknowledged that “community members are afraid to leave their homes and have said they feel that the City and SAPS have let them down”.

“I understand the frustrations of the Rosettenville community and I have apologised for government letting them down. I also implored them to not take the law into their own hands and assured them that I will do everything in my power to ensure that these homes are rid of criminals and criminal activity.”

He said he had ordered his member of the mayoral committee for safety‚ Councillor Michael Sun‚ “to set up a specialised task team of JMPD officers to raid these buildings on a regular basis”. – TMG Digital