A truck has been set alight while four other trucks looted during a violent protest in Witsands, Atlantis area in Cape Town. The incident happened on Tuesday 30 June at night as residents were protesting in Blombos Street.
The residents were protesting over service delivery in the area. According to a community leader Nolufefe Mbombo, residents from a newly formed Joyce Bangene Covid-19 informal settlement are demanding electricity. This is after they went for months without electricity after their transformer exploded earlier in June.
The informal settlement residents allegedly closed roads by setting burning tyres on the roads since Tuesday night. Trucks that were transporting fridges in the area were stopped, looted and one set alight. Mbombo said the residents didn’t have formal electricity so the transformer which they had illegally connected is the one that exploded.
“The problem has affected even people from the formal house because they used that same transformer,” said Mbombo.
Cops spokesman Wesley Twigg confirmed the incident.
“On Tuesday evening, 30 July 2024, Atlantis SAPS and Law Enforcement members responded to a protest action in Blombos Street, Witsand, Atlantis where disgruntled community members looted five trucks and set one alight.
“Refrigerators were stolen from the trucks during the protest action. Police and Law Enforcement were thrown with stones and action was taken to disperse the crowd. Following investigations into the looting the members recovered four refrigerators so far. Searches for other appliances and goods that were stolen are still under way.
“Two suspects aged 22 and 28 were arrested and face charges of public violence, malicious damage to property and theft out of motor vehicle. Anyone with information about this incident is kindly requested to contact the investigating officer Detective Sergeant Donovan Christian on 061 439 7652 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111,” said Twigg.
The arrested suspects will appear in the Atlantis Magistrates’ court on the mentioned charges.