By Cebelihle Bhengu.
Johannesburg residents barricaded the roads and burnt tyres in the CBD to protest against the death of a foreign national aged 28 during a police search-and-seizure operation on Monday.
Police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello said residents accused the police of shooting the man who had collapsed.
Sello said the cause of his death was not yet known. Residents at the scene accused police of putting a packet over the man’s face before he died.
She said 13 protesters were arrested for public violence.
“The police warn members of the public not to take the law into their own hands and let the law take its cause,” she said.
Members of the public were cautioned to avoid the area, while motorists were advised to use alternative routes.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said that the JMPD and the police are on the scene.
“The situation is currently volatile, as we have received reports that police vehicles are being stoned by the protesters. Motorists are urged to avoid Commissioner Street between Nugget and Mooi Street.”
Comment from IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping will be added once received.