A man threatening to set himself alight on top of an
eight-storey building brought traffic to a standstill in central Pretoria on Wednesday morning.
The corner of Schoeman and Andries streets was cordoned off as police awaited the arrival of negotiation experts to calm the man down.
By mid-morning, he was seen pouring liquid from a five-litre container over his head.
Police representative Inspector Percy Morokane said the liquid was petrol, adding: ”He also has matches with him and is threatening to set himself alight.”
Sitting on a ledge, the man at some stage threw down a poster that read: ”UNHCR violent racist tribalisme.”
Morokane said the man was believed to a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. An official from the office of the United National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was also seen on the scene.
Emergency staff and a number of police were keeping several dozen onlookers at a distance. – Sapa