A late night raid on the house of Bangladesh nationals in Musina sparked a lot of controversy the past week and rumours again surfaced that foreigners have to pay “protection money” or else face acts of harassment by members of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and police officials.

On Monday, January 4, three members of the DHA, assisted by two police officers, allegedly arrived at several houses in Musina in which many Bangladeshi nationals stay. In written statements, the residents complain that they were subject to harassment by the DHA officials who wore their name tags upside down. The police officials who accompanied them were also in plain clothes without any identification. The raid took place at night after 10 p.m. Some of the victims´ vital documents were allegedly confiscated without giving them any seizure documents or any form of receipt. The victims were put into a police vehicle which drove them around until the early hours of Tuesday before taking them to the Musina police station. There they were allegedly kept until 04:00 on Tuesday, 5 January 2010, and then released.

It is alleged that the raid team forcefully damaged a security gate in Frost Avenue, Musina, to gain entry, in spite of the residents´ willingness to unlock it, after they had woken up. According to the residents, the raid team did not identify themselves or produced any warrant during the raid. They invaded the privacy of the residents by entering in their private bedrooms before their wives and children could change from their night dress into decent clothing.

In written statements, seven of the raid victims declare that they were in possession of all the necessary documents to legalize their stay in South Africa. One of the residents took up South African citizenship and was in possession of an SA ID book. This was also allegedly confiscated by the immigration officer, without issuing a seizure document or receipt therefore.

The legal representative of the victims, Attorney M S Shaik from Polokwane, tried to resolve the matter the following day and visited the Musina police station. According to him he spoke to the station commissioner who advised him to lay a charge of malicious damage to property. Subsequently the captain in charge of the station took his clients to the community service centre to lay a charge, but had to wait for hours as none of the police officers at the community service centre of the station were willing to assist his clients. Mr Shaik took photos of the site in Frost Avenue which illustrate the extensive damage caused to a security gate which was allegedly kicked in by a DHA official.

According to Mr Shaik, the SAPS station commissioner at Musina and the SAPS at the Musina Border were informed about the complaints.

Rumours are rife in Musina about ways to avoid harassment by DHA officials. None of the Bangladeshi nationals was, however, willing to discuss this openly. The name of a certain individual who acts as an “in between” contact was obtained, but little more was said.

National spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs, Ms Siobhan McCarthy, said on enquiry this week that no reports about the alleged incidents had been received. She said the Musina office would be contacted to enquire about the allegations.

The communications officer of the Musina SAPS was not available at office. His voice mailbox was full and could not take any messages.

The station commissioner of the SAPS in Musina, Senior Superintendent Solomon Munzhedzi, responded that he could find no evidence of such a complaint. He denied that any of his staff would refuse to register such a case and invited the concerned parties to come and speak to him.