Protesting Elandshoek residents shut down N4 for almost five hours
The protest was sparked by the death of a community member who had been detained by police after his arrest on domestic violence charges
MBOMBELA – The N4 toll route between Montrose and the Kaapsehoop intersection was closed for approximately five hours on Wednesday night.
The provincial SAPS spokesman, Brig Leonard Hlathi, said that the community of Elandshoek blocked the N4 with burning tyres, heavy rocks and trees.
They were protesting about Thomas Sibanyoni (42), who died in police custody on Saturday.
According to Hlathi, he was found to have hanged himself with a shoelace in a temporary holding cell, after police arrested him for a domestic violence-related complaint.
“The community insist that police killed him,” he said.
“An inquest docket was opened and a postmortem was conducted. The results did not suggest any foul play.”
ALSO READ: Two suspects in Uitkyk attack caught
Flying Squad and Public Order Policing were called to assist and the road was reopened around 00:40 on Thursday morning. According to the Trans African Concessions spokesman, Solange Soares, the closure was as a result of protesters who blockaded the road.
“No damage was done to the road, but traffic was affected,” she said.
The Mpumalanga provincial safety, security and liaison spokesman, Mmusi Moeti, said the department condemned the protesters’ actions in the strongest possible terms.
“The road was heavily backed up, which had economic implications for those transporting perishables and other
goods,” Moeti said.
ALSO READ: SANParks take drastic steps to curb millions in fruitless and wasteful expenditure
He added that, while everyone had a right to embark on protest action, no one had the right to do so by infringing on the rights of others to move freely.
“Regardless of how genuine their concerns were, the right to protest should not be exercised while infringing on the rights of others.
“This becomes a massive blow to the economy because certain goods are supposed to reach their destination by a certain time.”
Hlathi added that cases of looting and public violence were opened. No arrests had been made at the time of going to press.
