Police Officers Accused of Apartheid Style Nationally Check by Asking Someone to Say Elbow in XiTsonga

• Police officers have come under fire for asking people to pronounce the names of body parts in official South African languages
• A video of members of Saps using the unusual method to identify foreign nations has gone viral on social media
• Politicians and citizens have called the officers out on their behaviour with many saying it is apartheid like

JOHANNESBURG - Social media users have called out members of the South African Police Service (Saps) for their alleged apartheid-style technique to identify foreigners.

Police officers have recognised foreigners by their ability to name parts of their bodies in the national languages.

In a video posted by SABC News, police can be seen asking a Diepsloot woman to say elbow in XiTsonga. Another South African man, Frans Manganyi who did not have his ID document with him was asked to name a few body parts in XiTsonga, however, his pronunciation was different to that of the officer.

Police officers are allegedly arresting those who fail the test, according to TimesLIVE. President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the behaviour of the police is unacceptable. The EFF Spokesperson Sinawo Thambo also called out the police and said that people are being criminalised based on their dialect.

South Africans react to the police’s methods

Concerned Citizen said:

“Disturbing behaviour by police.”

Bonje Chaula posted:

“When the lions fought and chased the leopards away in a game reserve, they started chasing to eat each other until the weaker ran to hide where the leopards were hiding but there was an ugly welcome.”

@palesa_morudu shared:

“Apartheid and colonialism did proper damage. White immigrants to South Africa are spared all this violence and indignity.”

@BLACMYSTORY commented:

“Let police do their job along the borderline to stop border jumpers and deport those without proper documents.”

@AlexvandeHeever said:

“You are so right. This is today's pencil test.”

@Stepupjeje added:

“What kind of animalistic behaviour is that?”

@MJM001 wrote:

“This is sad, as much as undocumented foreigners should return home, they cannot return home in caskets. They might be illegally here but FFS they are humans.”

ActionSA Leader Herman Mashaba denies creating environment that led to killing of Zimbabwean Elvis Nyathi

Briefly News also reported ActionSA Leader Herman Mashaba has refuted claims that he had sparked the xenophobic attacks that led to the death of Elvis Nyathi in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

Nyathi was a 43-year-old Zimbabwean national who was stoned and set alight during an apparent act of mob violence.

Mashaba recently condemned the killing of Nyathi and however, Honorary Professor of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand Jonathan Jansen said Mashaba sparked the anti-immigrant hatred.

Source: Briefly News