The Zimbabwean Communist Party member who was kicked out of a community meeting in Diepsloot, northern Johannesburg, is still in disbelief that he was threatened in front of a government minister and the police commissioner .
However, Bongani Mazwi Mkhwananzi on Sunday told Sowetan he was grateful that home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi helped calm Friday’s situation by following him as he was whisked away from an angry crowd baying for his blood.
Mkhwananzi, who lives in Fourways and not Diepsloot, had attempted to speak at the meeting.
“I find it very strange that people could threaten me in front of the minister. It is really strange. I expect people to respect the minister. People wanted to beat me up in front of the minister,” Mkhwananzi said.
“People were threatening my life just because I said I am Zimbabwean. How then are our people treated on the ground if I can be threatened in front of the highest-ranking police officer?
“I think if it were not for the minister I would not have escaped.”
Mkhwananzi was whisked away in a Joburg metro police vehicle after Motsoaledi asked him to leave.
Motsoaledi told him that the closed meeting was only for the residents of Diepsloot and that he had been invited wrongfully.
The meeting had been convened by Cele and Motsoaledi to give feedback on the progress of what the government has done to stop the violence that erupted in the township after protests over the high level of crime.
Mkhwananzi said he was invited by community leaders in Diepsloot but could not say who they were.
After the four-hour meeting, Motsoaledi told residents that tensions had been high when Mkhwananzi started speaking.
“I saw a level of anger that I have never seen… That man was going to be killed if I did not act. There was going to be another corpse here. I did not kick him out, that meeting ran into chaos because that is the level of anger that is here…He was going to be killed, I think I protected him,” Motsoaledi said.
Diepsloot has been the centre of attention after protest erupted on Tuesday, bringing the entire township to a standstill.
Residents complained about the high levels of crime, which they blamed on undocumented migrants living in the township.
On Wednesday night, Elvis Nyathi was killed by a group of people who were going around demanding IDs and passports from residents.
Cele has given the Diepsloot police station 16 additional vehicles to help fight the crime in the area.
He told the community the additional police would remain until a meeting with residents established that the situation had been brought under control.
Home affairs has deployed 25 officials to the township for three months to address issues of immigration.
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