Cape Town - Police and law enforcement agencies have been lauded by the greater Muizenberg community for managing to foil a protest demonstration in Capricorn Park, Muizenberg, late on Wednesday night.
At about 11pm, about 100 residents from Vrygrond, just behind Capricorn Park, took to the streets to protest having their shacks taken down by City of Cape Town officials.
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith confirmed City staff and the SAPS attended to a protest in Vrygrond last night.
“The protest was in response to the removal of structures, in violation of a court order.
“The protesters then attempted to turn that to their advantage and use the opportunity to attack Capricorn Park, but they were successfully blocked by SAPS, metro police and Law Enforcement,” Smith said.
“The area is calm this morning (Thursday).”
The Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) dispelled notions that the incident was linked to the looting sprees in other parts of the country.
The PDMC also urged Capetonians to refrain from sensationalising the incident and morphing it into something it was not.
Muizenberg Community Policing Forum spokesperson Lorraine Moko said it was grateful to the police and law enforcement agencies, which managed to rein in the situation and keep it from escalating.
Moko said: “We are not sure why the residents decided to protest at night. However, we are grateful to the police and all other agencies, including private security companies, who worked together to get the situation under control before it escalated any further.
“We are also extremely proud of our other communities who heeded our calls to stay indoors and not get mixed in the fray. That was very important for us. We wanted to make sure that no one got hurt and the police were given the necessary space to work.
“Currently, the situation in the community is calm, and everything is moving along as normal. However, we will remain on alert.”