Johannesburg - Three people have been arrested for public violence in Thokoza, east of Johannesburg, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.
“Three men were arrested and will be charged with public violence,” Captain Godfrey Maditsi said.
The arrests came after residents took to the streets and barricaded roads. Maditsi said the roads had been cleared and the situation was under control.
“The [arrested] suspects will appear at the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on Wednesday,” he said.
Residents started to protest after the Red Ants and police went to Imbeliseni informal settlement looking for illegal electricity connections on Monday.
“Rubber bullets were fired at the residents after they started to attack the Red Ants,” said Maditsi.
He said residents threw stones at passing motorists and also looted tuckshops in the area.
The Ekurhuleni metro said on Tuesday it had intensified its campaign to remove illegal connections in the municipality.
It said in a statement that over 17,000 illegal connections had been removed since the campaign started two months ago.
Municipal spokesman Sam Modiba said illegal connections saw the city losing R36 million per annum.
“This translates to losses of about R2.8m to R4.9m per month,” Modiba said.
Sapa