Police use water cannons to disperse crowd in Cape Town

News24
29 Mar 2020, 23:40 GMT+10

Police have defended their use of a water cannon to disperse a crowd of people outside a store in Delft, Cape Town, on Friday - the first day of the 21-day lockdown, aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In terms of lockdown regulations, people have to stay at home and are only allowed to leave on conditions, which include essential work, buying essential goods and collecting grants.

But it was business as usual in some parts of Cape Town on Friday and police had their hands full as they tried to restrict citizens' movement.

In Delft, a water cannon was brought out and a video of the police's efforts to disperse the crowd was shared on social media.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said police officers were well within their right to use the water cannon.

He said "there were more than 2 000 people who tried to enter the shop in Delft" and said "they refused to leave when they were asked to".

Naidoo added that police continued to maintain high visibility in hotspot areas, such as Delft in Cape Town, Alexandra in Johannesburg and Soshanguve in Tshwane.

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement of the lockdown, people flocked to shopping complexes and malls to stock up on food and essentials.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Breaking Property News.

More Information

null in null

Business

Section

Meta hires SSI CEO Gross as AI race intensifies among tech giants

PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...

Engine defect prompts Nissan to recall over 443,000 vehicles

FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...

Microsoft trims jobs to manage soaring AI infrastructure costs

REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...

Stocks worldwide struggle to make ground Friday with Wall Street closed

LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...

Nvidia briefly tops Apple’s record in AI-fueled stock rally

SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...

ICE raids leave crops rotting in California, farmers fear collapse

SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...

Construction

Section