Malamulele - People have a right to protest, but should do so peacefully and not damage property, national police commissioner Riah Phiyega said on Wednesday.
“Everybody has the right to protest, but there is a way of doing it: do it peacefully, do not damage property, do not carry weapons,” she said.
“Violent protests take away from those who are peacefully protesting.”
Phiyega described as unacceptable a protest in Malamulele, Limpopo, where residents burnt down a government building and shops.
“By all measures and standard that was crime. It was criminal,” she said.
“To burn property you cause a lot of havoc to the economy and a lot of jobs are being affected. The retailers that were there have lost their income.”
She said violent protests also affected insurance companies.
Malamulele residents held a violent demarcation protest on Tuesday.
They looted shops and the Malamulele crossing complex. The home affairs office and shops at the Mala plaza were burnt down.
Forty people were arrested for public violence. They were expected to appear in the Malamulele Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Sapa