Avatar photo

By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


WATCH: Car spinning at Ennerdale community protests

Police say coloured townships where protests had been planned against 'marginalisation and neglect' were mostly calm.


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.

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.

“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:

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

Eish! Eldorado Park Ennerdale Westbury

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.