An Autopax bus was torched on Tsamaya Street on Tuesday night after yet another eviction by metro police and the Red Ants.
The Tshwane metro police (TMPD) will not tolerate any illegal land invasions following ongoing evictions across the city. This follows yet another eviction by the TMPD and the Red Ants in Mamelodi on Tuesday, which led to violence and unrest.
An Autopax bus was torched on Tsamaya Street on Tuesday night following continuous barricading of the road with rocks and burning tyres throughout the day.
TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said, as prescribed by newly elected mayor Solly Msimanga, they would not allow illegal land invasion.
“The mayor pronounced that we would not allow illegal land grabs and that is the stance. We are still monitoring the areas across Tshwane which are hotspots, and those that occupy land illegally will be dealt with,” he told The Citizen.
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Mamelodi police spokesperson Captain Johannes Maheso said no arrests were made and no one was injured during the unrest.
“Investigations continue and a docket of malicious damage to property and public violence was opened. Police have been deployed in that area to monitor the situation.”
The unrest follows a spate of unrest and evictions across Tshwane, with the Red Ants forcibly removing illegal occupants in Pretoria West last week and in Mamelodi Extension 4 last month.
According to an anonymous source who spoke to The Citizen last month, the chaos was allegedly an attempt to make Pretoria ungovernable by making residents believe they have new houses and land and subsequently taking it away from them.
