Pretoria – Unhappiness by members of the community living in East Lynne over Shoprite’s failure to employ local residents has led to several altercations between members of the public and management, forcing Shoprite Checkers group to knock on the court’s door for protection.
Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge John Murphy issued an urgent order interdicting a group of people calling itself the Siyazailwela Group, from harming or threatening any of the store’s employees.
They may also not prevent the employees or customers from entering the store, or incite any of its members to participate in violent protests.
The store is located in the East Park Shopping Centre in Baviaanspoort Road.
Petrus van Deventer, responsible for the security of the Shoprite Checkers group, told the court that on numerous occasions since December last year a group of people had conducted violent protests at the East Lynne shop, demanding jobs.
The first time the group pitched up at the store was on December 7 while branch manager Keabetsoe Dibe was on duty. Three men wanted to hand over a letter of demand to Dibe, but he refused to accept it.
The letter stated that the group was based in Ward 87 and they wanted to address the unemployment problem in the area. They also mentioned the names of 38 community members who were looking for work.
When Dibe told them he was not responsible for recruitment the men became angry and pushed him on his chest with their fingers.
They also hurled insults at him and security eventually removed them from the store.
Three days later about 30 protesters entered the store. They formed a line behind the till and sang and danced.
They shouted loudly and customers left the store.
The court was told that they had blocked the entrance to the store and the doors eventually had to be closed.
Dibe said it was clear that customers were uncomfortable and they either left the store or turned around before trying to enter.
The protesters had become aggressive, Dibe said, and they pushed him around. The police eventually arrived but the protesters kept on shouting and insulting Dibe.
One of the protesters asked the others to calm down, but this had the opposite effect and they became increasingly aggressive.
The protest leaders, store management and police eventually met in an office, where the letter of demand was handed over.
The letter was said to contain threats against the store management and it was said that the community did not want to see the manager near the store again or else they could not guarantee his safety.
It also stated that if Dibe did not leave, the community would make it difficult for Shoprite to do business.
Dibe, meanwhile, laid a charge of intimidation with the police and the matter is presently under investigation.
Van Deventer said when he was at the store two weeks ago, about 40 protesters marched to the store. The doors were immediately closed, but the community banged on the doors and the windows.
The police’s riot unit was called to the scene, and only after several hours did they manage to convince the protesters to leave.
They, however, shouted that they would be back and would “win this battle”.
Van Deventer said the atmosphere at the store and in the adjacent parking lot was very tense as it was uncertain as to what the protesters were going to do.
The protesters, meanwhile, demanded that apart from the manager being fired, the unemployed in Ward 87 should get jobs at the supermarket.
Van Deventer said it was unlikely that the protesters would stop their conduct before their demands were met. They asked the court to urgently step in to ensure the safety of employees and customers.