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Nikkita raid: No charges for now, most workers released

Published: 6th Feb 2017

Durban (SA) – There are no formal charges at this stage against Nikkita Footwear cc or its members, following a raid last Wednesday by the SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs, Sid Singh of Pather & Pather Attorneys Inc said today.

He said at a court appearance on Thursday, the prosecutor had declined to place the matter on the roll – citing insufficient evidence without further investigation.

During the raid, all entrances to Nikkita and its sister company, component manufacturer Brit Footwear, were blocked. A number of staff were identified as potentially illegal immigrants. Some were carrying papers indicating they were both legal immigrants and had work permits. Others were taken to their places of residence to produce those documents. 35 were taken into custody. Nikkita employs around 170 staff and Brit around 35.

However, one of the members of Nikkita said that 32 of those had been released without bail, but that there was no further information relating to the remaining 3.

Fellow member, Shaun Ganesh, had his bail of R5 000 returned after the court appearance.

Ganesh said all staff, including those who had been taken into custody, had been paid rates stipulated by the Wage Agreement.

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