South Africa: Officials Wary of Illegal Tshwane Shutdown Protest

Marchers take their protest to the Union Buildings (file photo).
29 April 2019

Cape Town — Service delivery protests forming part of the Total Shutdown movement have returned to the streets of Tshwane, with residents citing high electricity rates and the lack of sanitation among their chief concerns. Officials have deemed the demonstrations illegal, eNCA reports, and warned that participants would face arrest.

According to  Eyewitness News, Isaac Mahamba of the Tshwane Metro Police said that the march did not meet certain security requirements, adding: "We don't want to pre-empt what would happen; we did not grant them any permission to march. We're going to arrest people and we don't know what will happen."

The Tshwane Shutdown march is the latest in a series of service delivery protests organised in the lead-up to South Africa's national elections on 8 May. Previous demonstrations in the city saw traffic being brought to a standstill in some areas, while roads in Hammanskraal were left empty as protesters blocked access with burning rubble and rocks.

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