South Africa awoke to a heavy police and army presence on roads with free-flowing traffic and just small sporadic protests across the country as most people rejected the call for a national shutdown.
Major routes in Gauteng, KZN and the Western Cape were clear, including the N3, N2, N1, M4 and M7, apart from small protests on the M25 north of Durban to KwaMashu, the R102 near Mayville and Hibberdene and the road between Mtunzini and Gingindlovu, which was blocked with rubble and logs on Monday morning. Videos and photographs circulating on social media showed that many of the protesters who heeded the Economic Freedom Fighters’ call to protest about loadshedding and call for the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa in some areas were young teenagers.
This comes after Ramaphosa announced to parliament on Friday the deployment of 3 474 SA National Defence Force troops at a cost of R166,562,058, under Operation Prosper, to protect citizens against the threat of disruption and violence.
According to a statement released by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) at 7am on Monday, security forces had arrested 87 protestors for public violence-related offences in the last 12 hours.
Of the 87, 41 were arrested in Gauteng, 29 in North West and 15 in the Free State. There were also arrests in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
“Since the beginning of the integrated deployments, the Natjoints, together with the respective Provjoints, have been monitoring the situation closely to prevent and combat any acts of lawlessness and criminality,” said Natjoints.
It added that police had confiscated at least 24 300 tyres that had been “strategically placed for acts of criminality”. About 6 000 tyres were seized in the Western Cape, 4 500 in the Free State, 3 600 in Gauteng, 1 513 in the Eastern Cape and a few in other provinces. In KwaZulu Natal, which bore the brunt of civil unrest in July 2021, communities were awake to the risk of pending disruptions last week, and removed tyres along many roadways, especially across Durban, according to reports on social media.
Natjoints said it would not tolerate any form of lawlessness and criminality.
“Anyone found to be contravening the law will be dealt with accordingly. Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality, maintain public order, protect the inhabitants of South Africa and their property as well as uphold and enforce the law,” Natjoints said.
Road Freight Association CEO, Gavin Kelly, urged transporters on Sunday night to think about the safety of their staff and vehicles. He cautioned businesses to consider waiting until after the national shutdown before moving goods on the roads, a call that many appeared to heed as traffic volumes were low on many major routes on Monday morning.
