Cape Town- There was pandemonium and chaos in Malmesbury on Friday morning when hundreds of township residents rioted.
The residents of Wesbank and Lingelethu were reacting to the Swartland Municipality’s apparent failure to respond to a memorandum about the slow roll-out of government housing.
The protests erupted before dawn, disrupting traffic on the N7 road and closing a school.
By mid-morning police had pushed protesters back into Lingelethu. Two police armoured vehicles, a prisoner transport van and around two dozen officers in riot gear occupied high ground near the Lingelethu post office.
Toyi-toying protesters blocked roads with burning tyres, threw rocks and periodically advanced on the police position.
Police responded with rubber bullets, tear gas, stun grenades and arrests. A police helicopter circled.
Police spokesman Constable Lorencial Johnson did not gives details of the confrontation, but confirmed the “riot” and said police were monitoring the situation.
Community spokesman Willie van Rooy criticised police for the “heavy-handedness” of their response. He accused the police of being untrained and trigger-happy, and criticised municipal officials for refusing to meet the protesters…
South Africa Today – South Africa News – Malmesbury
