Hundreds more arrested in Mamelodi unrest
Despite the hundreds of arrests made in connection with the looting attempts in the township, no fatalities were said to have been recorded thus far.
At least 100 more people were arrested in Mamelodi as looting attempts continued overnight on Tuesday, police minister Bheki Cele said as he addressed members of the media on Wednesday morning.
Cele addressed the members of the media at the Mams mall, where some of the overnight incidents were recorded.
“Some 116 people have been arrested around this mall,” he said, adding that no fatalities had been recorded thus far.
This after Tshwane mayor Randall Williams on Tuesday afternoon announced that the Tshwane metro police department and SAPS made more than 100 other arrests for public violence, theft and possession of stolen goods.
Cele’s visit to the mall was understood to have been prompted by looting attempts and clashes between law enforcement which occurred on Tuesday evening.
In the briefing, he further said the exchange in gunfire between the alleged looters and police pointed to something more sinister was at play, instead of just “hunger”.
“That, to me, sounds more like organised gangsterism that might be beyond what we see,” Cele said.
He also made reference to organised crime groups which “might be hiding behind the genuine hunger and socio-economic problems of the community”.
A few hours earlier, the SA National Taxi Association (Santaco) in Tshwane announced they had directed all taxi associations in the region to go out in full force to protect shopping malls in the city against the ongoing looting attempts which have occurred.
Earlier in the day, Gauteng premier David Makhura said more than 400 arrests had been made thus far in connection with the sporadic looting which had occurred in various parts of the province.
“We are calling for calm and peace. Criminality will not be tolerated,” he said.
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