A murder suspect was literally hiding in a backyard shack when Limpopo's premier showed up personally to raid the place. Yeah, she went hands-on. Dr Phophi Ramathuba tagged along with cops during Operation Shanela II, and the multi-agency sweep across Polokwane racked up 339 arrests from 478 separate searches.
Cops also busted unlicensed spaza shops and yanked piles of contraband cigarettes off the shelves. The whole thing exposed how locals were basically running an underground rental gig, leasing backyard rooms to undocumented people and giving criminals a perfect hideout spot.
Ramathuba straight up told residents to quit housing anyone without proper papers and to snitch on sketchy activity instead of playing vigilante. She made it clear that legal foreign nationals had zero reason to worry, and the focus stayed strictly on enforcement rather than appearance-based targeting.
And this ain't a one-off. More unannounced sweeps are queued for urban and rural zones, with traditional leaders getting looped into the rural ops. The province sits right against Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, making it a perpetual hotspot for undocumented crossings.
Cops also busted unlicensed spaza shops and yanked piles of contraband cigarettes off the shelves. The whole thing exposed how locals were basically running an underground rental gig, leasing backyard rooms to undocumented people and giving criminals a perfect hideout spot.
Ramathuba straight up told residents to quit housing anyone without proper papers and to snitch on sketchy activity instead of playing vigilante. She made it clear that legal foreign nationals had zero reason to worry, and the focus stayed strictly on enforcement rather than appearance-based targeting.
And this ain't a one-off. More unannounced sweeps are queued for urban and rural zones, with traditional leaders getting looped into the rural ops. The province sits right against Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, making it a perpetual hotspot for undocumented crossings.
