DA wants clarity on the arrests of 9 000 people

Loyiso Langeni

08 July 2015

The Democratic Alliance has questioned the whereabouts of 9 098 people the police claimed had been arrested as a result of Operation Fiela.

DA MP of Police Dianne Kohler Barnard said the portion of the over 9 000 people are foreign nationals.

“We will be submitting further parliamentary questions to the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, and his colleagues in Cabinet, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Michael Masutha, and Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, requesting them to provide clarity on the 9 098 people arrested during Operation Fiela and exactly what the status is of their arrests,” Barnard added.

She concluded by saying that a reply to a DA parliamentary question has revealed that Minister Nhleko has no idea what the status of 9 098 detainees arrested. If the Minister can tell Parliament, with certainty, that there were over 9 000 people arrested as a result of Operation Fiela to date, it should be a simple task for him and his colleagues in Cabinet to furnish the public with the details of these arrests.