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Thousands of people from communities across Gauteng have rallied together to protect food supplies and defend homes, businesses and shopping malls from marauding groups of protesters.
Armed with baseball bats, paintball guns, truncheons, firearms and sticks embedded with spikes, nails and broken glass, residents have openly clashed with looters in running street battles which have lasted until the early hours of the morning.
“It’s us or them. I am not letting these heathen destroy our neighbourhood,” said an Eldorado Park resident, who asked not to be named.
The man was speaking shortly after he and a group of residents performed a citizen’s arrest of a looter, who was stealing a cashier’s till from a Shoprite store in the neighbouring Freedom Park during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
We took the looter to the police station, but the cops had locked themselves inside.
— Pastor Ashley Sauls
As violence intensified, with police officers stretched to breaking point, residents of terrified communities across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have formed self-defence units.
In Mamelodi, Tshwane Metro Police and SAPS members were battling against mobs, some wielding guns, who destroyed the Denlyn and Mamelodi malls. Here, community policing forum members armed themselves with sticks, logs and steel bars to confront the looters when they tried to break into spaza shops and businesses in the township, situated east of Pretoria.
Mamelodi community policing forum chairperson Eddie Mnguni said: “It was total mayhem. Everywhere there were people breaking into businesses and stealing. Members of the Boko Haram gang, armed with guns, including AK47s, were helping the looters firing at police in the streets.
“You could hear the gunshots going off. You could hear the ‘tat, tatta, tatta’ of the bullets being fired. People were calling, begging for help, saying that there was shooting in their streets and people trying to break into their homes.
“With the police overwhelmed, there was no way that we were not going to help. On several occasions it became so dangerous and we had to retreat, but we came back.”
He said it was not just their members who had rallied to stop the violence, but other community members as well.
“There were people, many of them the elderly, who formed human chains around shopping malls. They were armed with sticks and their faith. They gave out a few hidings to those who were misbehaving.”
He said while the situation had calmed down on Tuesday morning, they feared what would happen in the night.
“Mamelodi West is quiet, but it is the east that we are worried about. To stop this violence we will need the soldiers to go in. We have urged more of our members to join tonight [Tuesday] to defend our shops and small businesses.”
In Eldorado Park, hundreds of community members armed with sticks, baseball bats, steel poles and firearms mounted foot and vehicle patrols through their neighbourhood, confronting looters as they tried to storm shops.
Eldorado Park community leader Morgan Stanford said Monday night had been extremely busy.
“It was defend, defend, defend. Right throughout the night and into this morning, we have been defending our community.
“If we don’t defend, what are we going to do, when the shops that we buy food from are looted and destroyed.”
Stanford, who was on patrol on Monday night, said residents had formed barricades around shops and malls, while others patrolled in vehicles.
“Some were armed with sticks and batons, while others, who have licences, had their guns with them.
“In each patrol there were about 40 people. We worked with security companies as well. The patrols went past the curfew because the police were just not there.”
Eldorado Park community leader pastor Ashley Sauls said they confronted several groups who tried to storm the suburb to loot shops.
“All we are doing is protecting what is ours, including our food supplies.”
He said through WhatsApp groups they mobilised residents, who came out in their hundreds.
“The residents, who armed themselves with whatever they could, confronted the looters several times. We suppressed the attacks through various means. I can’t elaborate on all the means.
“These were not just attacks in our area, but also in Freedom Park. In one attack on a Shoprite in Freedom Park a looter, who was stealing a cash register, was caught by our members.
“We took the looter to the police station, but the cops had locked themselves inside. It took ages to convince them that it was safe and that they could come out and take the looter to be charged.”
He said the communities had been forced to do the job of the police, because they were overstretched.
“The numbers who came out showed we have massive unity among our residents.”
Centurion CPF sector one chair Hugo Erasmus said they had 3,000 residents who had been activated in defence of the area.
“We are divided into street watch groups, with members doing patrols throughout the area.
“With the protests we have stepped up our normal patrols, especially around the malls, and the entrances to the neighbourhood.”
He said the moment something happened, messages were sent out on community WhatsApp groups to a joint operations centre, which then directed any defence action.
“I can say that we are more than ready for any trouble. In our defence we work directly with the police.”
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