A researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Selby Xinwa, says the mistrust between police and the community as well as the socio-economic exclusion that some South Africans feel, sparked the violence in the Pretoria CDB.
A group of about 3 000 people have been dispersed from the CBD in order for fire fighters to extinguish fires at several businesses.
On Tuesday traffic in some parts of the Pretoria CBD came to a standstill when a taxi driver was shot dead by a suspected drug dealer.
Traffic remains congested on several streets and many shops are closed.
Xinwa says government needs to take action on alleged corruption in the police force to restore public confidence in law enforcement.
“There seems to be a desist of trust between the communities as well as the police. Police in many instances are alleged to have, you know, been conniving with the drug peddlers and therefore communities would now start to act on their own, because there seems not to be any action from the police. As a society and government, we need to begin to deal with the drivers of violence. What are the causes of violence basically? These are issues of socio-economic inclusion and exclusion, some people for example because of their exclusion in terms of economic and social structures they then resort to some of these ills.”
