Nhleko proud of how police handled protests

Minister Nathi Nhleko is proud of how police have handled themselves during the recent spate of protests around the country.

He also said the use of stun grenades was not dangerous to protesters.

Speaking during a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, the minister lauded the police for acting with restraint during the protests.

He was responding to a question on how police have handled protests in Parliament and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Wednesday.

Stun grenades and gas were used against workers in Parliament and students at UWC in an effort to disperse them.

Nhleko said he was proud of how police had handled themselves under the circumstances.

He said police had acted with "restraint" and, as a result, the recent protests did not lead to a loss of life or casualties.

“And some of these protests have been... somewhat violent,” said Nhleko.

He said police had been up to the task to deal with the various protests.

On the use of stun grenades, the minister said those were not dangerous.

“A stun grenade has absolutely no shrapnel, for example. It’s called stun because it stuns you. Wow - That’s what you get. It is the emission of an intimidating sound, I agree, but it is more to do with crowd control.”

Nhleko said there should not be an expectation that police would not act or make an attempt to enforce the law when a situation like a protest gets out of hand.

He said they worked hard to ensure there was no loss of life.

“Our police members have been using shields instead of guns, for example.”

Source News 24