Shops attacked, raided, looted and set alight, Olievenhoutbosch

South African Police Service

Shops attacked, raided, looted and set alight, Olievenhoutbosch
Shops attacked, raided, looted and set alight, Olievenhoutbosch

Police have arrested four suspects in Olievenhoutbosch after they were found in one of the shops that were attacked on Sunday evening 19 January 2020, by a group of people. An unconfirmed number of shops were damaged and some set alight.

This comes after members of the public order police attended to the initial incident in Olievenhoutbosch, where a group of people went on the rampage and raided a number of shops alleged to be selling muti.

At this point, the group is said to have gone into the shops, removed muti-products and set the products alight just outside these shops.

Police were able to disperse the group.

It is then reported that an even bigger crowd started later in the evening and attacked and burnt some shops that are part of a chain of stores known to be selling muti. The group allegedly became violent and attacked the police nyala and the members responded by firing stun grenades and rubber bullets.

The members then found another group allegedly looting a shop and arrested the four suspects.

Preliminary reports suggest that this stemmed from an arrest last week of a man suspected to be behind the murder of a woman who went missing in November last year, and her body was found on 16 January 2020, in Mnandi in the Olievenhoutbosch policing area.

South Africa Today – South Africa News

SOURCESouth African Police Service