Evictions: six protesters remain behind bars

SIX MEN arrested for violent behaviour at Soshanguve’s Plastic View appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court and were remanded in custody yesterday.

They are due back in court on Thursday.

The men were arrested at the weekend during protests last Wednesday against the eviction of people deemed illegal by the Tshwane metro.

They were thrown out of RDP houses into which they had moved towards the end of last year.

The evictions followed allegations that houses were being sold to people who had not been on the beneficiaries list.

After some house-dwellers dug their heels in and refused to leave, residents from Plastic View Extensions 6 and 7 went into the area and started burning shacks and houses.

They also threw belongings out of the houses and burnt them, with the group from Plastic View proper retaliating by going into Extension 6 and torching a community leader’s house on Friday.

A mob from Extension 6 went back into Plastic View and burnt a house belonging to Enos Chiloane, who is alleged to have sold houses.

Police spokeswoman Captain Riana van Aarden said yesterday: “They were arrested for crimes including the burning of houses.”

Residents who attended the court case yesterday morning said the men had been remanded and would be back on Thursday morning.

Last week’s violence between Plastic View and Extension 6 and 7 residents saw mobs run rampage, looting and burning shacks and destroying spaza shops.

The protests entered sixth day yesterday.

The police maintained a presence to avoid flare-ups and promised they would remain there until the situation was back to normal.

“We will stay there until the situation is calm, until everything is quiet and under control,” said Van Aarden.

Akasia police officers were on random patrols through Plastic View, while the Public Order Policing Unit remained there.