March 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of South Africa has reported that the Police have arrested at least 550 people during the general strike this Monday called by the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in protest of the energy crisis in the country.
In a statement they have confirmed that the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) arrested 149 people on Monday in the Gauteng region, 95 in the Northern Cape, 80 in the Eastern Cape and 64 in the Free State, these being the provinces with the highest number of arrests.
They accuse the detained protesters of, “among other things, public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and attempted looting,” NATJOINS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said in a statement.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of everyone in this country,” the spokesman concluded.
For his part, President Ramaphosa addressed the country this Monday to recall that although the South African Constitution guarantees the right of all citizens to demonstrate peacefully, this does not mean “harassing, intimidating or threatening anyone”, nor “harming property or cause harm to any person”.
“A person’s right to protest must not in any way infringe the right to life and dignity of another person. It must not impede their freedom of movement and association, nor their right to exercise their trade,” he stressed.
