Vendors demonstrate against police officers 'sent by bosses to extort cash from them'

Vendors at Sekusile in Nkulumane today staged a demonstration against police officers whom they accused of demanding cash to allow them to continue operating.

The vendors marched around Sekusile chanting and toyi-toying as they denounced the police this afternoon.

In interviews, the vendors told Bulawayo24 News they had had enough from police officers from Nkulumane and Tshabalala Police Stations.

They said officers from Tshabalala usually came to them in the morning demanding $5 from each vendor while their Nkulumane counterparts came in the afternoon, demanding the same amount.

"Instead of fighting crime, the police have become corrupt and come here to harvest money from us. There are more than 100 vendors here, so you can imagine how much they take daily. We are tired and we are saying enough is enough," said one of the vendors, who was chanting obscene slogans against the police.

The vendors said the 'daily fee' was never explained and they were never given receipts.
"If we press for an explanation, they simply say their superiors sent them. $10 is just too much for someone to just take without working for it. We want this system to stop because we are now working to feed the police," said another vendor.

They said they wanted to meet with the councillor for the area to get assistance, as approaching the police had not yielded results.

"We are saying if the matter is not resolved we are going to beat up the next cop who comes here demanding money. We hope you will be brave enough to publish this story and help us," said a vendor.

Police, as has become the norm, were not reachable for comment.