Fifty people arrested on Saturday following protests sparked off by the murder of a six-year-old girl in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg will appear in the Protea Magistrate’s court on Monday, according to police.
Gauteng police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Mary Martins-Engelbrecht said the 50 were all adults and included both men and women.
Gairoenisha Ganchi went missing on Thursday afternoon and was found naked and mutilated near her home on Friday morning.
Residents accused police of having acted indifferently when the girl’s mother, Madeniya Ganchi, went to report her missing on Thursday.
The crowd started gathering outside the Eldorado Park police station on Saturday morning when community members came to hand over a man believed to be behind the murder.
The crowd started throwing stones and breaking windows. Protesters also threw a petrol bomb at one of police vehicles but the fire was quickly extinguished.
Spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said the police were forced to retaliate by firing rubber bullets into the crowd. – Sapa