Johannesburg - Police fired rubber bullets at protesters who barricaded roads and burned turned tyres at Kokomeng in Taung in the North West, a spokesperson said on Monday.
Captain Adele Myburgh said the violence started at 10.30am when police were informed about an “illegal gathering” of 400 people.
“The police mobilised and went out and we gave them time to disperse,” she said.
“They didn't want to disperse. They were unhappy because of service delivery problems in the area.”
Myburgh said the crowd barricaded the road with rocks and burned tyres.
“Police gave them time to disperse before using rubber bullets.”
At 3.50pm the police arrested three men and five women in the area for public unrest.
Myburgh said the situation was “tense” and was being monitored by the public order policing unit.
The SABC reported that the protesters were mostly young people and that they accused the provincial ANC leadership of fiddling with the candidates’ list for the upcoming local government elections. - Sapa