Police caught by surprise when Vuwani protesters targeted schools

13 June 2016 - 18:10 By Kingdom Mabuza

The South African Human Rights Commission heard on Monday that members of the Public Order Policing were unaware residents of Vuwani would target schools when they became dissatisfied with the decision of the Demarcation Board. Police admitted during their presentation to the commission that when they received information that residents were unhappy with the decision of the board‚ they secured state assets including buildings which they regarded as "hotspots" - but not schools. Head of Public Order Policing Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi said they did not anticipate that residents would target schools. "When schools were targeted‚ we were already stretched on the ground. The area of Vuwani has many villages and schools scattered in a big area‚" he said...

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