Police acted quickly on Thursday afternoon to calm a situation in Extension 9 that threatened to turn ugly after a man accused of theft was arrested.
Police acted quickly on Thursday afternoon to calm a situation in Extension 9 that threatened to turn ugly after a man accused of theft was arrested.
Residents rushed out in defence of the man, a shopkeeper whom the owner of a neighbouring business had accused of stealing a large amount of cash.
After arresting the accused shopkeeper, a Somalian, the police rushed back to the scene.
Residents, insisting on the shopkeeper''s innocence, had forced his accuser out of his own shop.
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender confirmed there had been a dispute between two foreign shop owners.
She said officers had taken some people away from the scene to calm the situation and later released them.
The residents insisted the man had been at his Grahamstown shop at the time of the alleged incident, in Port Elizabeth.
Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of Grocott's Mail.
