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10 Cape Town protesters arrested for 'public violence'

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Residents protested in Wesbank because they have been without electricity for days.
Residents protested in Wesbank because they have been without electricity for days.
Brenton Geach, Gallo Images
  • Ten protesters have been arrested in Cape Town.
  • Angry Wesbank residents took to the streets after being left without electricity.
  • The power outage was caused by vandalism, Eskom has said.

Ten men have been arrested following violent protest action in Wesbank, Cape Town, on Monday. 

The protesters, aged between 16 and 32, were arrested for malicious damage to property and public violence, said Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk.

On Monday afternoon, angry residents took to the streets because the area had been without electricity.

Protesters blocked off major thoroughfares as disgruntled residents burnt tyres and barricaded roads.

wesbank
Tires were set on fire in protest action as power in Wesbank has been off since Sunday morning.
wesbank
Several tires were burned and stones were thrown in a protest by residents of Wesbank.
Wesbank
The community of Wesbank, Cape Town, continued their protest action on Monday.
wesbank
A police member tries to keep the protesters under control.

Eskom told News24 that it was aware that Wesbank was experiencing a loss of electricity supply. The outage was caused by vandalism which took place on Sunday, and this had affected more than 2 800 residents, the power utility said.

Eskom added that it had tried to restore electricity on Monday, but could not due to the protest action, and that employees had needed a police escort to carry out repairs.

Police would maintain a presence in the area, Van Wyk said.

"[Public Order Police (POP)] took action to disperse the crowd. Ten males... were arrested on public violence charges. They are due to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court once charged," he said.

"POP and other law enforcement agencies will remain in the area to monitor the situation."

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