Over 50 arrested over violence during protests in S. Africa

Forty more suspects have been arrested in connection with incidents of looting and public violence in and around Pretoria, the government said on Wednesday.

This brought to 54 the total number of people that have been arrested since violent protests broke out in the city on Monday, said government spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.

The arrests were effected in the townships of Atteridgeville, Hercules, Mabopane, Soshanguve and Mamelodi in and around Pretoria, according to Dlamini.

The suspects have been charged with public violence, theft and possession of stolen property, she said.

The protests were sparked by the ruling African National Congress' decision to place Thoko Didiza as its mayoral candidate for Pretoria to replace current mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa in the upcoming elections scheduled for August 3.

During the protests, houses were burned, buses torched and shops looted.

The attacks and looting of shops show that some of the protest actions are motivated by criminality, Dlamini said.

She said there is gradual stability in some of the previously volatile areas "as a result of the interventions by the government law enforcement agencies" while sporadic violent protests and incidents of looting continue in parts of Pretoria such as Mabopane and Soshanguve.

"The government assures the public that law enforcement agencies are responding and monitoring these development and peace and calm will return to the city," Dlamini said.

She also denied reports that enforcement officers took part in the looting.

"It is quite disturbing that pictures were posted on social media that sought to portray law enforcement officers as part of the looters. We would like to place it on the record that the law enforcement officers whose pictures have been distributed in social media were actually returning the looted goods to shop owners," she added. Enditem