Mthatha - A police officer was shot and wounded during a protest by taxi drivers in Bizana, Eastern Cape police said on Tuesday.
On Monday evening taxi drivers demanding tarred roads blocked roads with their minibuses and threw stones at passing vehicles, Lieutenant Khaya Tonjeni said.
“When police arrived at the scene, a scuffle ensued between the police and taxi owners. A police member was shot in the left arm by an unknown person who fired from the protesting crowd,” Tonjeni said.
The officer was taken to hospital and later discharged.
Several shops, including a Spar and a KFC, were vandalised during the unrest. Police arrested 24 taxi drivers and charged them with malicious damage to property and public violence.
They would appear in the Bizana Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
Police were on Tuesday still monitoring the situation.
“So far, the situation is reported to be calm and under control,” Tonjeni said.
Sapa