Security issues in Lindela break
Department in contact with Zimbabwe embassy to deport undocumented foreign nationals
THE SECURITY company guarding the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp, where migrants escaped, have denied claims that their officers abandoned their work stations following a dispute with the company.
On Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced that about 37 undocumented migrants awaiting deportation climbed over the walls and escaped the repatriation centre on Sunday when the security guards of a private company, EnviroMongz Projects, left their posts.
Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siya Qoza, yesterday said that on the day of the escape, about 10 guards left their stations at around 2pm.
“Three hours later the immigrants started to escape. They climbed up the wall of the building on to the roof and then jumped down towards the perimeter fence and then climbed over the fence,” he said.
Qoza said the 24-hour officials at the facility saw the escape attempts and together with the “few” security guards left, managed to stop a number of immigrants but they were overwhelmed and 37 people escaped.
The department alleged that the security guards left their stations because they were in a dispute with the private security company over working conditions at the centre.
However, EnviroMongz director Mongezi Maqubela told The Star yesterday that the issues regarding working conditions for the security guards were only brought up after the escape.
“There was no dispute with the company. It was a unilateral action without consulting, without even expressing a grievance, without us even being aware that there was an issue,” he said.
Maqubela said that the escape of the immigrants happened because of negligence and dereliction of duty on the part of the guards, and that the company would deal with it as such.
He added that before the escape, the company made changes to the security guards’ shift to comply with the lockdown regulations.
“We said ‘Let’s restructure and say six to six’ but they work the same number of hours and they actually get more days to be off. Nothing contrary, they are working properly so nobody is being overworked,” he said.
The department and Maqubela confirmed that the 10 security guards had been placed on suspension.
Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubela said yesterday that no re-arrests had been made yet but the police were looking for the escaped foreign nationals.
“The minister is on record saying that the escape should not have happened so there is an internal investigation which is going to guide us in terms of what recourse we have,” said Qoza.
Meanwhile, two hours after Motsoaledi visited the facility on Wednesday, another riot started.
“People there were rioting because they were saying that they tested for Covid-19 and were found negative so they should be allowed to mingle and not observe social distancing protocols,” the minister’s spokesperson said.
The undocumented immigrants who started the riot on Wednesday and on Sunday were allegedly mostly Lesotho nationals.
“When that happened, the minister consulted a few stakeholders including the government of Lesotho and at 4.30 this morning (yesterday) 94 Lesotho nationals at that facility were deported,” he said.
Qoza added that yesterday, the department was in consultation with the Embassy of Zimbabwe to also deport undocumented Zimbabwean nationals at the facility.
“The nationals from Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe constitute the bulk of the 1 512 people who were there yesterday,” he said.