Police used stun grenades and batons to clear protesters against prepaid water meters off the Old Potchefstroom Road outside Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Ten people were arrested and would appear in court on Wednesday, said police spokesperson Captain Mbazima Shiburi. One policeman was injured when a stone was thrown and was in hospital.
More than 100 protesters had blocked the road on Tuesday, which is the main thoroughfare to and from Soweto.
The protest was organised by the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, which handed out pamphlets calling for a stay-away against ”privatisation and pre-paid water meters” on November 1.
”We demand free basic services for all (water, sanitation, electricity, houses, health care, education, public transport)” the pamphlet read.
Shiburi said the protesters had produced no documentation to show that their demonstration was legal. – Sapa