Cape Town highway closed amidst protests in Parkwood

Clashes between the residents of Parkwood and the olice have led to the City of Cape Town temporarily closing the Prince George Drive between Dick Burton and De Waal roads.

This follows ongoing unrest which began over the weekend in the area, as the community took to the streets demanding adequate housing.

News24 reports that the protests have taken a violent turn, with some residents stoning vehicles, which lead to the road closure on Wednesday afternoon, which carried on to Thursday as authorities battle to bring about calm.

“About 50 protestors  stoning vehicles and burning tyres in the road at Prince George Drive and Dick Burton Road and Hyde Road,” Cape Town Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said.

Things came to a head on Thursday, after an attempted land invasion where residents erected structures on a vacant stretch of land along the M5 highway.

Police responded by breaking down the structures the following day, sparking chaos as the protestors were  dispersed by rubber bullets, while some responded with stones and bottles.

This resulted in at least 15 arrests that were made, and according to EWN, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is set to visit Parkwood shortly to listen to the residents grievances.

“I will continue to help… and try to get the people that have been arrested released because some of them are sick,” a SAHRC official quoted by EWN said.

“There’s a young woman, 18 years old, who is supposed to be writing exams on Thursday. I also want to hear their side as there’ve been stories about brutality and how they were treated.”

Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela has also met up with the community, and urged them not to occupy vacant land illegally.

Also read: Hermanus land owners agree to sell land to government following protests