Unimpressed with the quality of power supply in Soweto, residents of the historic town poured into the street in protest, barricading some roads.
Among the roads blocked are the Chris Hani Road and the Old Potchefstroom Road between Klipspruit and Pimville. The Potchefstroom blockade led to the calling off of the Rea Vaya bus services. The decision was taken to pre-empt vandalism of locomotive assets.
According to some residents, the barricading of the roads began as early as 1 am as community leaders scrambled to obstruct traffic before commuters hit the roads.
Sowetans say they are facing electricity problems which have been compounded by delivery service issues, as well as an increase in the price of petrol.
The police and members of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) had to intervene to remove the barricades.
[WATCH] Protea South residents moving up Chris Hani Road. They are going meet up with the rest of the communities who will be participating in the#sowetoshutdown at Maponya Mall. @Newzroom405pic.twitter.com/5mYWxUEeh7
— Linda Mnisi (@LindA_MniSii) June 21, 2022
Elsewhere, Nhlanhla Lux of the Operation Dudula advocacy is pushing to have all foreigners who got into South Africa illegally out of the country. And his supporters are also part of the current protests over electricity.
The current protest goes by the hashtag #SowetoShutDown and has many Sowetans in the streets either protesting or observing. It’s unclear how long the protests will last. Security forces are on alert already.
