ANC PROVINCIAL CHAIRPERSON & PREMIER DR PHOPHI RAMATHUBA REDEEMS: 339 UNDOCUMENTED NATIONALS NETTED AS PREMIER LEADS OPERATION SHANELA II CRACKDOWN
- Mpho Dube
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Operation Shanela II delivers major blow to crime in in Greenside, Seshego
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
SESHEGO – 339 undocumented foreign nationals. Zimbabweans and Malawians. Identified and handed to Home Affairs for processing.
That was the result recently when Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba led from the front during Operation Shanela II in Greenside, Seshego.
This is not talk. This is action. This is leadership. Joined by MEC for Transport and Community Safety Violet Mathye and Acting Provincial Commissioner Maj Gen Jan Scheepers, the Premier spearheaded a multidisciplinary operation that delivered a major blow to crime in the province.
Operation Shanela II cracked the whip and it cracked hard:
- 339 undocumented foreign nationals identified and processed in terms of the Immigration Act
- 478 individuals searched
- 148 vehicles stopped and searched
- 34 spaza shops inspected for compliance and consumer safety
- 1 suspect arrested for murder and robbery
- 2 suspects arrested for illegal sale of illicit cigarettes
SAPS, Hawks, K9 Unit, Public Order Policing, Home Affairs, EMS and Social Development worked as one team under the Premier’s command.
“The success of Operation Shanela II sends a strong and unequivocal message that criminality has no place in Limpopo,” said Premier Dr Ramathuba.
“We will continue to intensify intelligence-led operations to remove dangerous criminals from our communities, address illegal immigration in accordance with the laws of our country and ensure that anyone who breaks the law is brought to justice.”
The Premier has also reset the political conversation.
Days before the operation, Dr Ramathuba told the "March and March" movement exactly where Limpopo stands: "Hands off Limpopo."
The province will handle its own border and migration issues. Limpopo government and police are already conducting necessary raids and arrests. No external interference needed.
“We will handle our own affairs,” she declared.
What makes this Premier different is that she enforces the law without victimizing citizens.
Dr Ramathuba condemned attempts by outsiders to racially and linguistically profile dark-skinned South Africans. She raised concerns after reports that vendors speaking Tsonga, Venda, and Pedi were stopped and harassed to “prove their ethnicity.”
“We have noted that during these protests, people are being targeted based on their skin complexion and their language. The majority of those people, unfortunately, originate from Limpopo,” she said.
“That we cannot allow. You can’t be moving from one household to another, removing people based on their skin complexion or the language they speak.”
Her stance is clear: Support the crackdown on undocumented migrants to protect the economy and services. Reject mob justice.
“We welcome all those who made it possible for us to be where we are today. But we cannot allow a situation where, because I am a Limpopo-born citizen and dark-skinned, I cannot be allowed to visit any province,” the Premier said.
Critics spoke. The Premier did not blink.
“We were among those people when it was not fashionable. We've always raised these issues of undocumented immigrants,” she said. “Now the President has appointed the IMC. The Border Management Authority is being strengthened. Police are working with us. Drug lords are being arrested.”
With Operation Shanela II, Dr Phophi Ramathuba has redeemed herself and reset the narrative.
Limpopo is working. Limpopo is safe. Hands off.
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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