WATCH | The horrific moment a taxi drove into Mitchells Plain protesters, killing one
Warning: graphic content not foe sensitive viewers
At least one person died when a taxi ploughed through a barricade during violent protests in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, on Wednesday night.
The taxi can be seen driving through the crowd. While most of the people leap out of the way, a young man was hit by the vehicle and dragged underneath
A community leader told TimesLIVE the driver "had no choice" as his vehicle, with passengers inside, had come under attack, seemingly by the protesters.
"They were smashing in his windows and he had people inside. He was desperately trying to get away. It won't help to crucify him now; it's a bad situation here," Highlands Valley neighbourhood watch chairperson Byron de Villiers said.
Residents living in the Siqalo informal settlement – demanding access to land and electricity – have been involved in a tense stand-off with police and their neighbours in Mitchells Plain.
Police spokesman Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed on Thursday that violence overnight had claimed one life, while two people suffered gunshot wounds.
Mitchells Plain woke up to protests on May 2 2018. The protest was over land and a lack of service delivery.
Mitchells Plain community activists said that widely circulated social media messages warning of a lockdown in the Cape Town suburb ahead of a march on Thursday evening were not true.
Mitchells Plain United Residents Association spokesperson Michael Jacobs said that community members had agreed to not hold any further protests after a meeting with Premier Helen Zille earlier in the day.