By Everson Luhanga
Protesters took to the streets in the Johannesburg inner city on Monday after a man was found dead in his flat.
His death set off wild speculation. Some people alleged he was killed by the police who came to search his flat while others claimed that he had swallowed drugs trying to evade an arrest.
But whatever the investigation outcome would be, one thing was evident: the protestors made sure that part of the inner city was a no-go area. Multiple main streets were barricaded with rocks, cars, and burning tyres.
Police vans were smashed by protesters and main roads were littered with rocks that gave the Johannesburg Metro Police a hard time cleaning up after the protesters.
According to sources, the police raided the deceased’s flat in the early hours of Monday.
“The man was found dead after the police had left his place,” said one source, “and that was when the gathering of his countrymen started,” said the man who did not want to be named.
The gathering quickly drew more people, and their outrage turned into civil unrest.
People staying in the same block of flats said the protesters were retaliating against the death of one of their own who was identified as a Tanzanian national.
“Most of the people who were protesting were Tanzanians.”
“They were angry at the death of their countryman, accusing the police of beating him to death,” said one resident of the block of flats.
Johannesburg Metro Police spokesperson Xolani Fihla said they were called to the scene of the protest to help with the flow of traffic.
The unrest was quelled after the police arrested 13 protesters and managed to clear the streets.
Fihla would not speculate on what sparked the protests, directing questions to their counterparts, the South African Police Services, who are handling and investigating the case.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said police are monitoring protests in Johannesburg CBD after a 28-year-old man died.
“It is reported that the police were conducting a search and seizure operation at one of the buildings in the CBD when the victim fell and collapsed.”
“The community started protesting, barricaded the road with burning tyres and rocks alleging that the police killed the victim,” said Colonel Sello in a statement released on Monday.
The statement further said “the cause of death is unknown at this stage pending autopsy results.
“An inquest docket is opened for further investigations.”
Pictured above: A crowd gathers outside the flat where the body of a Tanzanian national was discovered by police
Image source: Johannesburg Public Safety
