The unrest stemmed from an incident that happened at about 2.30pm.
An eight-year-old girl had gone to the tuck shop in the Masimini Section.
“The child found the owner (about 35) standing at the gate, and as she walked in, the owner followed to serve her.
“It is alleged that when she was done shopping, the girl spoke to some residents at a nearby tavern and told them that the shop owner had touched her,” explains Capt Thabo Sibuyi.
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Though the child seemingly did not specify where or how the owner had touched her, the residents became angry because they thought the child had been raped or touched inappropriately.
“The community gathered and went to the shop to look for the owner while others helped themselves to his stock.
“Someone then alerted the police, who proceeded to the scene, tried to stop the people from looting and took the owner in for questioning,” says Sibuyi.
As things continued to spiral out of control, with the community allegedly throwing stones at the police, local officers called for backup to try to restore calm to the area.
“The child was taken by the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit and to a medical doctor.
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“The report was that the child had not been harmed and that nothing had happened.
“As a result, the parents did not open a case,” he adds.
The police also took a truck to the scene, as they had to take the groceries from the tuck shop in for safekeeping.
Deputy Cluster Commander, Brigadier Remember Shabangu, visited the scene and noted that no one had been injured during the incident.
“It is good to protect each other as a community, but people should not take justice into their own hands.
“Before reacting, get all the facts and call the police,” advises Sibuyi.
Police say that as the day progressed, more incidents of looting of shops owned by foreign nationals in KwaThema were reported.
