Tshepiso Monyaje was charged with destruction of essential infrastructure, contravention of the National Road Traffic Act, and public violence.

The court appearance follows his arrest after the eruption of public protests in and around Mahikeng on Monday.

The protesters had barricaded two main roads - the R503 between Mahikeng and Lichtenburg and the N18 between Mahikeng and Vryburg.

The suspect was arrested on the N18 main road where he allegedly committed the crime.

“The police initially managed to disperse the crowd but converged again to barricade the N18 as well as the R49 road in Signal Hill village with burning tyres and various other objects,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) provincial spokesperson, Henry Mamothame.

“They managed to disperse the crowd again and three protesters were arrested. The other two accused were since released as there was insufficient evidence to enroll their cases with the court,” he added.

Monyaje’s matter was postponed to 25 June for further investigations. 

Jacaranda News