A protest by the Alexandria community ended with 59 people being arrested after they blockaded the R72 main road on Thursday 10 September.
A protest by the Alexandria community ended with 59 people being arrested after they blockaded the R72 main road on Thursday 10 September.
According to reports the community was protesting against the fact that they were not favoured for employment on government-funded projects in the area.
The community also complained of poor service delivery, sources said. Police spokesperson Lieutenant Luvuyo Mjekula said the 59 people were arrested after they refused to obey police orders.
"The Alexandria police were called after the community blockaded the R72 road," Mjekula said.
"The road was closed from 6am to midday because of tyres that were burnt on the road. We had to divert traffic to other routes because of the protest.
"Police pleaded with the people, but that failed and the East London Public Order unit had to be called. The unit tried their best to engage with the people who were sitting straight on the tar road but they refused to listen," Mjekula said.
"The police fired rubber bullets and used stun grenades to disperse the crowd," said Mjekula. He said the crowd ran to the nearby township. The municipal fire department came and cleaned the road, which was later re-opened. Mjekula said the people arrested have been charged on three counts.
"It's public violence, gathering in the act of protesting without permission and hindering traffic flow," Mjekula said. "They have been kept in custody at the Alexandria police station," said Mjekula.
Sources said a woman crossing the road to fetch her child from school was apparently hit by a police rubber bullet and was treated by medical personnel.
The source said the ANC constituency office was damaged by fire. "No other businesses were damaged. The crowd chanted 'away with useless ANC councillors'," said the source.
The Ndlambe Municipality Manager Rolly Dumezweni was also called to address the crowd according to Mjekula.
Mjekula confirmed that someone was injured in the protest but it was not clear whether the person was hit by a rubber bullet or not.
