Police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele says if residents destroy property during protests, the men and women in blue will be forced to intervene and see to it that protestors desist from such action. 

This strong warning follows a series of protests by Bolokanang residents near Petrusburg in the Letsemeng Local Municipality where they allegedly had a confrontation with the police after they used burned tyres, waste refuse, and rocks to block the N8 road, amongst others. Makhele says the police cannot divulge as to how many residents have been apprehended as a result of the violent protests in Bolokanang.

OFM News on Thursday reported that it was understood that at least two residents were apprehended by police during this violent protest which even led to the total shutdown of the area forcing schools to close, as well as local small businesses.

“At the end of the day, the same infrastructure which is destroyed will have to be rebuilt by the government. So our duty is to make sure that we secure that infrastructure because the same community is going to benefit from it. But as to how many arrests there were - I’ll have to verify that.“ Makhele was speaking to OFM News before a memorandum handover at the local Heidedal Police Station in Bloemfontein during a walk by officers as part of the Police Safety Month.

 OFM News