By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Service in Gauteng are investigating the death of a teenager during a protest in Slovo Park, south of Johannesburg, on Monday.
Tensions arose after residents aired their frustrations over the ongoing poor service delivery in the area.
The group barricaded some of the roads in the area with burning tyres and rocks on Monday and Tuesday.
Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo says the cause of the teenage boy’s death cannot be confirmed at this stage.
“The case will be transferred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) for further investigation,” says Masondo.
Masondo added that police reacted when the community began throwing stones while waiting to be addressed by the ward councilor and other government officials.
“Police had to fire rubber bullets and stun grenades in order to disperse the violent protesters. The officials were safely escorted out of the area,” says Masondo.
He says two people have been arrested for public violence since the protest erupted on Monday and members from Public Order Policing are still deployed in the area to monitor the situation.”
Ipid spokesperson Robbie Raburabu says they have already begun their investigations.
“At this stage, as Ipid we are aware of the death, but we are not sure as yet where the body is, and the verification process as to what killed the person is underway.”
Meanwhile Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has named the high crime rate as one of the contributing factors to the backlog at the Hillbrow mortuary.
Nkomo-Ralehoko has assigned a task team to assist with the post-mortem backlog following complaints by families.
The delays in autopsy results have left hundreds of families unable to bury their loved ones.
While the MEC admitted that a shortage of pathologists is also a factor, she said the Hillbrow mortuary receives an unusual number of bodies of people who died from unnatural causes.