Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement department, said a land invasion that started in Woodlands on Friday has turned violent. As a result one of the main roads in Mitchell’s Plain had to be closed.
On Monday protesters were burning tyres, set a pedestrian robot alight and reportedly fired live rounds on law enforcement officers in the area.
The City’s traffic services spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhout, said Eisleben Road between Highlands Drive and Seline Way has been closed.
According to Sergeant Ruth Solomons of Metro police, all services are in the area.
On Friday about 100 people illegally occupied an open field off Mitchell Avenue, pegging plots. Law enforcement removed about 20 structures from the field. On Sunday the land occupiers wanted to re-erect structures but law enforcement stepped in.
Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town has requested the South African Police Service to establish a priority committee on protest action amidst an alarming spike in protest action in the city in recent months.
The City said SAPS indicated that there had been 145 protest actions in the first four and a half months of this year compared to 84 during the same period in 2017. SAPS have identified 34 conflict areas.
Just in the last week, there were protests in Vrygrond, Parkwood, Bo-Kaap, Ocean View, Gugulethu, Macassar, Khayelitsha, Robert Sobukwe Road and 35th Avenue, Milnerton, Dunoon and Mitchell’s Plain.
