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Sirens wailed in some of Cape Town’s suburbs as police sped up from one looting point to another on Wednesday, with some people apparently unmoved by the presidential promise of additional subsidies and food packages.
A group tried to invade Watergate Mall on two fronts in Mitchells Plain earlier in the day, but multiple police units saturated the area to prevent them from descending into the retail center that houses brands like Shoprite.
READ | Strong police presence outside Watergate Mall
Authorities had just regained control of the R300 highway, and officers ran back to their vehicles, with reports of another looting attempt in progress by their radios.
They dragged around debris and motorists confused by the sudden detours and roadblocks as the police quelled the looting attempts, and rushed to their next destination, with masks covering their faces.
The blast of rubber bullets was heard as the looters dispersed.
Police prevent looting in Mitchells Plain. (Jenni Evans, News24)
Police spokesman Brigadier Novelwa Potela reported the following incidents on Wednesday afternoon:
– On the Elsies River, a group of about 15 people ambushed a supermarket on Halt Road that seized items valued at R3,000. Elsies River police arrested four people between the ages of 32 and 43 on robbery charges. An attempt to break into a closed butcher shop in the area was thwarted by police who dispersed the crowd.
– In Delft South, about 50 people broke into a supermarket and took food worth R4,000. Police also dispersed a large crowd that had gathered nearby. Tracking down the perpetrators is underway, but on Keerboom Street and Delft Main Road Tuesday, shops were looted and five people aged 26 to 31 were arrested for theft.
– At Samora Machel, Phillipi East, police prevented a group from looting a delivery truck after roadblocks were put up on the road around 10:30. The group ran to Heinz Park, which is near a flybridge, and then tried to storm the nearby Watergate Mall. Four suspects were arrested for public violence as police and other law enforcement agencies saturated the area.
– In Vredenburg, on the west coast, between 300 and 400 Witteklip residents threw stones at the police who had prevented them from breaking into a local spaza store. They had complained about not getting food packages and had also gone to a counselor’s house. Four people were arrested.
– Police also reported another incident involving one of their own involved in an alcohol-related crime, this time in Caledon on Sunday. A “first responder” security guard was also arrested in that case for robbery and theft.
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato criticized the looting and said that people in need of help should call the SA Social Security Agency at 0800 60 10 11 or 021 469 0235 for information on food distribution.
He said that there were also soup kitchens that people could approach to eat, and that attendance was expanding.
Plato asked people who witnessed the looting to call their local police station, Cape Town’s emergency number 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700, or the police at 10111.
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