National Shutdown: Police Arrest Over 550 People For Criminal Activities

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) disclosed that more than 550 people were arrested during the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party (EFF) led national shutdown Monday.

In a statement, NATJOINTS noted Gauteng province had the highest number of arrests at 149 while the Northern Cape was second highest at 95. Eastern Cape, on the other hand, arrested 80 protestors while Free State recorded 64 arrests.

More than 550 protestors were arrested for public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and looting. Police also seized 24,300 tires that were placed strategically for criminal activities.

"The number of tires that were confiscated throughout the country remains at 24,300. These were tires that were strategically placed for acts of criminality," NATJOINTS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said, as per SA News.

Brigadier Mathe expressed NATJOINTS' appreciation towards the peaceful and orderly protest that took place in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital. In other parts of the country, protestors took law and order into their hands.

"Through its respective Provjoints across the country, the NATJOINTS working closely with various stakeholders in the security Cluster, has ensured maximum mobilization of resources to heighten police visibility with a view of preventing acts of lawlessness and criminality," he continued.

He added NATJOINTS kept its promise "to the inhabitants of this country, in ensuring that the measures that are in place enabled businesses and services to operate with minimum incidents of criminality reported throughout the country."

Mathe concluded by thanking "various stakeholders from members of the public and the business fraternity for working together with law enforcement to uphold and enforce the law," adding that "law enforcement deployments will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety and security of everyone in the country."

As many as 2,500 protestors were seen in Pretoria, while a smaller crowd of hundreds gathered in Johannesburg as part of the protest. In Cape Town, 400 people reached Parliament while Durban witnessed a large number of 5,000 protestors marching toward Moses Mabhida Stadium.

South African non-governmental organization AfriForum claimed EFF's national shutdown was a failure as it received very little support from public.

"Today's failed attempt by the EFF to disrupt people's lives makes it clear that the greater majority of the country's citizens do not share the EFF's radical views," AfriForum spokesperson Jacques Broodryk said, as per IOL. "The party also underestimated communities' readiness to secure their territories."

EFF called for a planned national shutdown Monday (March 20) against President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ongoing load-shedding crisis in the country.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), which has more than 800,000 members, disclosed its plan to join the protest last week. Small political parties like United Democratic Movement (UDM) also shared their interest in joining the protest.