Pretoria - Two of the four Pretoria street vendors accused of public violence have been released from custody, the SA Informal Traders' Forum (SAITF) said on Friday.
“They were released immediately after the charges were withdrawn by the State on Thursday,” SAITF's Gauteng deputy chairman Phumulani Ndlovu said in a statement.
The other two were still in custody waiting for the home affairs department to confirm their citizenship status.
The four were arrested last Thursday for allegedly interfering with police after a trader was shot dead, allegedly by a metro police officer. The officer was apparently trying to confiscate Foster Jan Rivombo's stock of apples and bananas.
He will be buried in Giyani, Limpopo, on Sunday.
The SAITF and its affiliate, the Tshwane Barekisi Forum, welcomed the release of the vendors. They called on the City of Tshwane to stop arresting them unlawfully and harassing them.
“We call on the mayor and the economic development in Tshwane to be transparent on how trading licences are being handled.”
Sapa