WATCH: Cele vows action after Gqeberha chaos
Updated | By Algoa FM
Police were out in full force in in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape following Wednesday’s violence in the area.
Eight minibus taxi's were set alight and two vehicles damaged after a crash turned violent.
Police Minister Bheki Cele flew to Nelson Mandela Bay on Thursday to assess the situation.
Officers also swooped on a local store after business owners were seen brandishing firearms during the violence, which is believed to have been sparked by a road accident involving a taxi and a car driven by a local businessman.
Addressing the media in Korsten, Cele said the ministry had already held an emergency meeting with the leadership of the taxi industry, local business, and the Somali shop owners in an attempt to quell the situation.
He promised that action would be taken against those who had transgressed the law during Wednesday’s chaos.
“There were guns and firearms brandished around here. Some of them fired. Police will have to find all of them who committed crimes, the arson and destruction. Police will have to look and find those guns that were fired.
“We all know the Firearm Act. Private citizens of the land are not allowed to move around, displaying their firearms publicly.”
The Somali whop owner whose store was raided by the tactical response team during Cele's visit took exception to the police conduct.
He also accused the police of showing favouritism towards the taxi owners at the expense of the shop owners.
The shop owner did not dispute the fact that he and his fellow Somalians had firearms but said they were legal and that they also had the right to defend themselves.
Violence ensues between taxi drivers and the Somalian community in the Korsten Area of Gqeberha. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/6Rs2qvCzZ9
— KimmyKool (@KimDanieLs09) October 13, 2021
This is not Afghanistan or Syria. This is Gqeberha, and Somalians are parading with heavy machinery after they burned taxis. Our country has become lawless, and no one respects the law of rule now. Cry my beloved country 😥 pic.twitter.com/xYUKDc8rmZ
— Fusi Nkoala (@Iam_Fusi) October 13, 2021
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