Protestor killed and police station set on fire
One of the harsh realities of people who live in poverty-stricken areas in South Africa is the lack of service delivery. This often leads to protests in which angry members of the community take to the streets. They do this to voice out their frustrations about poor service delivery by the government. This morning was no different. Residents took to the streets to voice out their grievances about electricity and high rates and they brought Tembisa to a standstill.
The unrest took a drastic turn when the protesters barricaded the roads with burning tyres and stones. They also set the police station on fire.
In one of the videos trending on social media, a larger group of protestors are seen running away from a police vehicle while shots are being fired by the police and there is smoke everywhere with tyres burning on the road.
Video https://t.co/xK9K2cxpbo pic.twitter.com/ATtJfV1UG0
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) August 1, 2022
It has also been reported that one protestor was shot and killed during the unrest. The Ekuruleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) confirmed that the protestor was shot by one of their officers.
A protestor has been shot dead in Tembisa. The EMPD has confirmed that he was shot dead by one of their officers. #TembisaUnrest pic.twitter.com/ha8rJXOE9y
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) August 1, 2022
As much as unrest are common in South Africa, they usually end in the burning of tyres and infrastructure. They rarely turn fatal.
The government needs to start listening to the grievances of its people and put measures to address them.
On the other hand, residents should also learn to voice out their frustrations in a peaceful manner. Burning infrastructure only makes matters worse for them. The infrastructure will need to be rebuilt which will then take away from money that is meant for service delivery.
The police should also be trained on how to manage angry crowds without killing or injuring people as this not only affects the victim and their families. It also causes fear and distrust in police. Not to mention the long-lasting effects on our economy as investors are discouraged by unrest and bad publicity.
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