Police condemn violent protest in Masoyi

The provincial commissioner of police, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, has strongly condemned the violent behaviour displayed during unlawful protests in Masoyi. A bakery truck and a bus was torched. Windows of another bus were smashed out.

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The protest began on Monday morning. Zuma has since assembled a task team of investigators to probe the protest action with a view to bring those responsible to account. According to police reports, in the early hours of Monday, the police were notified of a protest action being carried out by some members of the community at Masoyi.

The Public Order Policing members were deployed to deal with the situation. While in the area, the police received information about protesters who had barricaded the road at Nkanini in Masoyi where the bakery truck was reportedly stopped and its driver instructed to get out.

It is said they looted about 12 000 loaves of bread from the truck before burning it.

Later in the day, a bus driver also came under attack at Mahushu, where protestors were said to have barricaded the road. They allegedly ordered the driver to get out of the bus and then torched it. Another bus had its windows smashed. The drivers were not harmed during these incidents.

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“When people decide to protest due to challenges they face in their communities, whether as a result of poor service delivery or any other matter, they should know that their actions must be conducted within the ambit of the law.

The community must not allow a situation where some unscrupulous individuals with ulterior criminal motives hijack their course, take advantage of community challenges and use such opportunities to steal and destroy property. Our country is governed by formidable laws and people cannot do as they wish,” said Zuma. The police continue to monitor the situation and arrests are imminent.