The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla John Sitole has condemned the attack by protesters on the SAPS Public Order Police (POP) officers on 14 August 2018.
Members of the POP Unit attended a complaint at a Biscuit Company in Kimberly Avenue in Nancefield, Gauteng.
Approximately 200 participants were found barricading the entrance to the company, preventing the staff and security from leaving the premises. The protestors refused to heed to calls from the police to disperse which compelled the POP members to disperse them using minimum force.
After a while the protesters regrouped along Stockwell Street and started stoning passing vehicles. The POP members responded again but this time they were pelted with stones and a petrol bomb was thrown at a Nyala vehicle, setting it ablaze.
At least three POP members sustained leg injuries from the stone throwing. Two members were taken to a local hospital for treatment. While we respect the rights of people to protest, as it is enshrined in the Constitution, all forms of violence should be condemned in the strongest possible way by all sectors of society.
“The behaviour by the protesters today has done nothing more than to undermine the authority of the State,” said General Khehla John Sitole.
“The visuals of the burning police Nyala does not auger well for the development of the Grand Economic Strategy of our country,” added General Sitole.
This type of behavior shall not be tolerated and those responsible will be held to account in terms of the law. They will be identified and brought to book as soon as possible.
Anyone who has any information may call the SAPS Crime Stop number 086 00 10111. Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with strictest confidence.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
