No arrests following looting in Lethabong

No arrests had yet been made following looting of foreign-owned shops in Lethabong near Rustenburg, North West police said on Wednesday.

“The police have interviewed shop owners. They are following leads and arrests are imminent,” said police spokesperson Captain Paul Ramaloko.

On Tuesday night a group of teenagers looted shops owned by foreign nationals. This followed a meeting at which it was alleged a resolution was taken to shut down the township on Wednesday, in a bid to force the Rustenburg local municipality to speed up the process of allocating residential sites in Lethabong. They also wanted the municipality to attend to a sewerage spill they alleged had been leaking for over six months in Chesampama.

Ramaloko said at least four shops had been looted.

The police had managed to restore order and no incidents were reported on Wednesday.

Although the situation was calm on Wednesday night, rocks were still blocking the road preventing buses from getting into Chesampama and Soviet 1 areas.