WATCH: Car spinning at Ennerdale community protests
Police say coloured townships where protests had been planned against 'marginalisation and neglect' were mostly calm.
The Ennerdale community is protesting “in solidarity with Westbury”. Photo: @LiberalsAreNaiv
A video clip has surfaced on social media of a car spinning at one of the protest scenes in Ennerdale.
Protests broke out in Ennerdale on Friday morning “in solidarity with the Westbury” community, said Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) senior superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
Ennerdale community leaders have reportedly stated that they have also been striking for years, demanding things like police intervention to combat crime in the area and improved service delivery.
They highlighted how service delivery has been a primary concern of theirs for years and it is one of the reasons behind their frequent strikes.
#Ennerdale Due to unrest in the area , @JHBWater teams are unable to attend to service calls 👇.We will monitor the situation and update ^NB pic.twitter.com/TtzQtlyQ2x
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 5, 2018
The protest action that broke out in Ennerdale on Friday morning reportedly spread to Eldorado Park where protesters have attempted to block the N12 freeway in the south of Johannesburg with burning tyres.
However, the police on Friday said coloured townships where protests had been planned against “marginalisation and neglect” were mostly calm.
Gauteng traffic police and other law enforcement agencies have managed to reopen the N12 east highway in Eldorado Park south of Johannesburg. This follows a protest in which residents blockaded the busy road with burning tyres and rocks this morning. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/n8o112lpYO
— SAfm news (@SAfmnews) October 5, 2018
“The situation is calm at Ennerdale, no violence at this stage and no arrests have been made,” police spokesperson Kay Makhubele said. He said no property damage had been reported and more police had been deployed in affected areas where residents were burning tyres and blocking roads.
The protests planned for Ennerdale, Eldorado Park, Lenasia and other predominantly “coloured townships” erupted a day after calm was restored in Westbury.
Residents of Westbury had been involved in running battles with the police for several days in protest against shootings and other crimes blamed on drug dealers in the area. Protesters also accused officers from the Sophiatown Police station of being in cahoots with criminals in Westbury.
They were burning tyres and blocking roads as part of a planned shutdown in parts of Gauteng.
Residents of affected areas complained of rampant drug abuse, gun crime and a lack of police action to tackle the problems, which have been linked to joblessness among the youth.
Watch the spinning car below:
Ennerdale’s take on protesting😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/etHVmX1STy
— DIE HARD MUFC FAN (@king_kai_1) October 5, 2018
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