SEDGEFIELD NEWS - A total of 38 people were arrested for public violence after a protest in Sedgefield turned violent last week Thursday.

The protest by Smutsville residents – who are demanding housing and other service delivery matters to be addressed – began late on Wednesday night, 13 March when some residents started burning tyres and blocking the entrance into Smutsville.

Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie said protesters gathered and blocked the main road of Smutsville, Oestervanger Street, with burning tyres and debris, preventing people and commuters to enter or exit the area.

"As a result we dispatched local police as well as our public order police to the area to intervene and normalise the situation. The protest action later escalated to the N2 main road where tyres were set alight to barricade the road. Protesters also pelted police members with stones and endangered other road users and passers-by," he said.

"Deployed members had to retaliate and use minimum force to constrain the unruly crowd by using stun grenades, rubber bullets and a water cannon to disperse them in an attempt to open the N2 for normal traffic."

Traffic was backed up for several kilometres and the road was closed for up to two hours before the protesters dispersed.

Police said 17 of the 38 people had already appeared in the Knysna Magistrate's Court, and the others were released pending further investigation. The case against the 17 accused was postponed to 14 May.

Pojie said they respect the rights of protesters to engage in certain actions, but the execution of their actions must be within the ambit of the law. "We are constantly monitoring the situation, how it develops in the Southern Cape, as we are experiencing widespread, sporadic protests along the coastal towns from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay."

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