BURNING tyres, barricaded roads and traffic diverted was the order of the day.
These were the scenes that greeted Joburg motorists on Monday morning, 31 July, after Riverlea residents shut down Main Reef Road and N12 in separate volatile protest actions.
The protest action to shut down Main Reef comes after the bodies of five suspected illegal miners were discovered in the area on Sunday, 30 July.
Johannesburg Metropolitain Department (JMPD) spokesman Xolani Fihla said that the intersection of New Canda and Commando Road was barricaded with burning tyres, leaving Nasrec Road near Jukskei Dr vulnerable.
As a result, motorists had to use alternative routes.
Residents in Riverlea are gatvol with the alleged illegal mining activities happening in the area, and are calling for the police to step in.
On Sunday, Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said that they responded to a shooting scene in Riverlea and nearby Zamimpilo squatter camp where five people had been gunned down.
ALSO READ: Advocate Mkhwebane is GUILTY!
According to Masondo, a preliminary investigation suggested that two rival groups of illegal miners were shooting at each other.
While no arrests have been made, he said that a case of murder, with five counts, had been opened and investigations into the matter were continuing.
In an unrelated protest, Fihla said that the N12 was also shut down.
“The details surrounding the protest are still unclear. Protesters barricaded the roads with stones and burning tyres.
“The freeway was closed off with rocks, and the roads within the Nancfield industrial area, near the Slovo informal settlement, were blocked off with burning tyres,” he said.
Gauteng traffic police spokesman Sello Maremane, said that motorists could endure heavy congestion on the N12 heading out of Lenasia from the K43 off-ramp past the pedestrian bridge due to protest action in the area.
He said that they would continue to monitor the situation.
