Disgruntled ANC members went on the rampage of Monday night and Tuesday morning‚ blocking roads with burning tyres and rocks and torching buses and trucks.
All police officers‚ including those on rest days‚ have been sent to assist in Tshwane where disgruntled African National Congress (ANC) members were believed to be protesting over the choice of Thoko Didiza as Tshwane mayoral candidate‚ Gauteng police said on the official SA Police Service Twitter account on Tuesday.
Sizwe Ndingane
Buses set alight in protest in Mamelodi. Picture Sizwe Ndingane
- Government warns Tshwane protesters: violence and intimidation won’t be toleratedGovernment has urged residents of Tshwane to choose dialogue instead of violence to resolve their dispute.
Areas said to be affected where Attridgeville‚ Mamelodi‚ Soshanguve and Hammanskraal.
Gauteng police said a joint operation centre was established in Tshwane to manage policing in the area.
- 'Not in our name' - ANC distances itself from ‘thuggery’ in TshwaneThe African National Congress’ (ANC) national head of campaigning‚ Nomvula Mokonyane‚ on Tuesday sought to distance the ruling party from the violence that erupted following the announcement of Thoko Didiza as its mayoral candidate for Tshwane.
Provincial commissioner Deliwe De Lange said anyone found committing a crime would be arrested immediately.
Cases of murder‚ malicious damage to property and intimidation have been opened.
Police are appealing to communities to remain calm and not get involved in criminal activity.
The ANC on Monday confirmed that one of its members was killed when confrontation broke out at the Tshwane Events Centre on Sunday night ahead of an announcement that Didiza would be the party's mayoral candidate. Several other people were injured.
On Monday afternoon‚ a group of protesters threw stones at Tshwane metro officers and overturned one of their vehicles.
The ANC has condemned the violence and called on its members to rally behind Didiza.
TMG Digital/BDlive
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