West Rand man arrested for inciting protests, looting in Gauteng
Police arrested a man from Roodepoort on the West Rand in the early hours of Friday morning on suspicion of the incitement of violence and looting.
The suspect’s arrest was confirmed by the police during a briefing to Parliament's police committee.
Officials briefed the committee on their response to the recent unrest and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The man is not part of the 12 suspected instigators who are under surveillance.
"At 1:15 this morning an individual, that is not part of the 12 was arrested in the West Rand. He was distributing messages and mobilising the communities to protest and loot. This was reported to the police and this person was arrested for inciting violence through social media," said major-general Leon Rabie.
Rabie said 1 212 cases have been registered in relation to the unrest.
A total of 949 cases have been opened in KZN and 248 in Gauteng.
Some 2200 people have been arrested.
"The majority of these dockets are currently under investigation, 246 in total have already been referred to courts in Gauteng and KZN," said Rabie.
Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya said they are working closely with prosecutors to tighten their case against the suspected instigators.
"In that regard without detailing the nature of the investigation, we understand the usual defense that people raise when we confront them for incitement.
“We are not going to publicly detail our work in that regard, however, we are working closely with prosecutors that are guiding us on whether the information we have is available to be able to confront these individuals," he said.
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