Durban - Residents from the Diepsloot township in Gauteng have embarked on a two day shutdown from Wednesday, demanding more police units in the area as crime has been on a steady rise.
Although the protest action has not kicked off yet, according to Johannesburg police spokesperson Brenda Muridili, police have marshalled extra units to the area to try and contain the protest.
“The situation in Diepsloot is peaceful. Protest action has not yet commenced, but there is high police visibility in the area for any eventuality,” Muridili told IOL.
Speaking during a live broadcast on Wednesday morning, Muridili said residents have met with police in the area, asking for more police visibility and police resources in Diepsloot.
Online reports suggest residents in the area are protesting to put an end to crime and violence that has ravaged the area. The murder rate in Diepsloot is a hot topic of discussion for residents in the area.
Muridili said new recruits were not taken into the SAPS due to Covid-19 and made it hard to deploy new units to the area.
She said residents made a call for more police resources in Diepsloot two years ago.
“After the SAPS management met with the community, there were some changes that were made, so the TRT (tactical response team) were deployed there for several months, and the area was stabilised up until now,” Muridili said.
Video footage emerged online showing residents burning tyres and other rubble to block off a road. The video shows multiple fires burning in a line along a street on Tuesday night.
But Muridili said the burning was not part of the protest as residents just “burnt those things and left”.
IOL