FILE PHOTO: Police are seen standing outside a foreign owned shop after it was looted and set alight by protestors in the Pretoria CBD, 28 August 2019.
Mon 02 September 2019:
In general, the CBD seems calm despite road closures and a heavy police presence
It is alleged that taxi drivers again tried to block intersections in the CBD on Monday, calling on the police to arrest drug peddlers in the area.
It was alleged that taxi drivers had discovered members of the police involved in selling drugs.
In an altercation between taxi drivers and police after the incident, a taxi driver was allegedly shot and killed.
Chaos ensued, with shops being looted and set alight.
Wednesday’s unrest began with taxi drivers blocking roads in the CBD to protest the shooting.
Shops were looted and set alight.
At one point, police officers from the flying squad, wielding R5 rifles, attempted to gain access to Lilian Ngoyi Street to allow the fire department through to attend to the burning buildings.
Police officers and firefighters were eventually forced to retreat as the looting continued.
A large police contingent finally moved into the area firing rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
As the police started firing, looters ran away, some with large flat-screen TVs that were stolen from an electronics store on the same street.
The police kept clearing streets as the looting continued.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela told to the media on Wednesday that no arrests had been made during the chaos.
Last week Thursday, Mahamba confirmed that calm has been restored to the CBD.
He added that the 18 people who had been arrested were due to appear in court for a bail hearing.
No court date has been set yet.
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