A Dalton Hostel resident says metro police stole the lobola money he had hidden in a locker, during a raid for drugs and weapons.
|||Durban - A Dalton Hostel resident has accused Durban metro police of stealing the lobola money he had hidden in a locker, during a raid for drugs and weapons.
According to residents, the raid was led by metro police head, Eugene Nzama.
Metro police spokesman, Superintendent Eugene Msomi, could not confirm if Nzama was present at the raid and said the police would investigate the allegations.
Sibusiso Meyiwa, 39, shares a room with seven men. The room has single beds and a small locker for each occupant.
Meyiwa was not present when the metro police raided the hostel and broke doors, searched for drugs and weapons. They allegedly broke into lockers.
“I arrived about an hour after they had left and I found the door to our room broken and all our lockers broken,” he said.
“There was R15 000 wrapped in a packet hidden in the locker, and a piggy bank with about R800 which I stored R5 coins in, so I could buy uniforms at the start of next year for my children, who go to school in Mbumbulu.”
One of the men who share the room with Meyiwa was in the shower – a considerable distance from the room – when the police arrived.
“When he returned to the room, he found police standing there and the room in a mess. They just told him they were doing their job and looking for drugs and weapons, of which none were found,” Meyiwa said.
He said he had reported the incident to police the same day.
“My father is not pleased at all. I’m scared for his health, because now that this money is gone I don’t know how to recover it.”
Meyiwa said he was expected to take it to Mariannhill for lobola negotiations this Saturday.
“I have no problem with policemen doing their jobs, but the problem is that they have done so with us not present, and they have stolen from us.”
Other men from the hostel expressed displeasure at the metro police and said they were supposed to protect and serve, and not violate their rights.
They said it was unnecessary to break doors, because the spare keys were available at the hostel offices.
At the women’s hostel, the police allegedly confiscated 10kg bags of rice and flour, and cooking oil, which the women use to make vetkoek and other meals to sell.
A woman who runs an eatery in the hostel, Thembeni Ngcamu, had iron sheets confiscated by the police. The police also confiscated two crates of sorghum beer.
“They told me I’m not allowed to sell it here, but it’s the only way I raise my children and send money home,” she said. “I am trying to build a home for my family in iXopo, and the iron sheets were placed safely here until I could find a van to transport it home.”
sihle.mlambo@inl.co.za
Daily News