Two Joburg contract workers arrested after being linked to violent protests

Two Jozi@Work employees have been arrested for allegedly soliciting a bribe.

The pair will appear in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of causing malicious damage to property and intimidation.

“It is alleged that the two suspects are behind the Jozi@Work protests which have taken place over the past few weeks‚” said Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.

The two suspects are said to have attempted to solicit a bribe of R6‚000 from their former supervisor in order to stop violent protests in the city and to prevent damage to infrastructure around Berea and Joubert Park.

“It is clear that these two suspects were determined to prevent the City from providing needed refuse removal services to communities‚ particularly those in the inner city.”

Jozi@Work was introduced by the ANC administration to link young people with job opportunities through partnerships with the private sector. But when Mayor Herman Mashaba took over in 2016‚ he ended the initiative‚ arguing that it was benefiting the middle man.