The Gauteng government has appealed for calm and urged law-abiding citizens to assist police with any information about any possible acts of violence in their areas.
This comes amid fears of a resurgence of last month’s unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal following social media posts calling for a national shutdown.
The calls have gone largely unheeded in Soweto, except for two service delivery protests in the areas of Orlando and Emndeni.
Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko visited Soweto on Monday morning and says there is police reinforcement.
“The situation is under control. We have recalled those who were on leave and said to them come and be on standby. If anything needs your reaction they would be able to act very quickly. Even those that were borrowed to other provinces they are now back here in Gauteng. We are 100% sure we have many personnel that would be able to be our assistance,” says the MEC.
Police on high alert following shutdown threats:
Meanwhile, residents of Bhambayi outside Phoenix north of Durban say last month’s unrest brought them nothing but hardship.
A special police task team is investigating the 33 deaths that took place in Phoenix, sparking racial tensions.
Mediated efforts to heal the rifts caused by the violence are ongoing.
Commuters standing next to a shopping complex that was torched last month, reflect on last month’s unrest and share their concerns around allegations of a possible resurgence on Monday.
“I’m feeling so bad because they burnt our shop. Now it’s hard to buy anything in the shop. You have to take the taxi to buy groceries. Even if you want to buy a small thing, you have to take a taxi,” says one commuter.
“Because most of the people lost their job as they did with the previous shutdown, and our economic growth will also go down. They arrested Zuma, so people were angry about it.”-Additional reporting by Tshepo Phagane
Situation calm and business as usual in Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal:
