A Mitchell’s Plain resident died on Wednesday night after he was hit by a taxi which then fled the scene during a community protest, authorities said.
Cape Town law enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason told News24 that two other people were injured when police fired rubber bullets at the crowd.
A large crowd of Mitchells Plain residents had gathered on Highlands Road following protest action by residents of the Siqalo informal settlement and according to reports the taxi sped through the crowd.
Siqalo residents came into conflict with their neighbours in Mitchells Plain during the protest that started late Tuesday night and continued on Wednesday, GroundUp reported. The Siqalo residents have been demanding the provision of services from the City of Cape Town.
Jakes Gerwel and Highlands drives and Weltevreden, Morgenster and Varkensvlei roads were closed off during the protest.
Police are currently monitoring the situation.
Earlier on Wednesday, a vehicle was set alight and an ATM at a Caltex petrol station and surrounding stores were damaged during the protest.
He said there was a large police presence in the area.
“There have been threats that apparently if there’s protest action again tonight (Wednesday) there are other groups that would retaliate. So, we are there to make sure that there’s peace in the area, that’s why we are maintaining a strong presence,” he said.
Dyason had earlier told News24 that two opposing factions had argued about the violent means used in the protest.
Public order police arrested a total of 30 people following several run-ins between the police and protesters on Jakes Gerwel Drive near Mitchells Plain.
Fifteen other people were arrested earlier for public violence.
Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said all the arrested protesters would be charged with public violence and were expected to appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court soon.
[Source: ENCA]
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the refugees that live in Mitchells Plain such as the pakistanis, congolese, somalians, malawians and zimbabweans are adding value by working hard and trying to uplift themselves and live in harmony with the locals.
I’m sorry but Siqalo needs to go back to where they came from as they have only brought destruction and chaos to our community. The fact that they block the roads stopping residents of mitchells plain from going to work shows that they are not God fearing people and that they are prepared to hurt others to get what they want. They are the same as the gangsters, oppressing the innocent hard working people.
Everytime they destroy the roads and the traffic lights, its our tax payers money that must fix it and it’s money out of the budget that could have been used for housing projects