A security officer was stoned to death on Friday when residents of an informal settlement outside Pretoria resisted an attempt to evict them, Gauteng police said.
The residents then set fire to a truck that was to be used to move their belongings, said police spokesperson Inspector Paul Ramaloko.
Three Nissan 1400 bakkies were also set on fire, he said.
Personnel from a security company, tasked with removing the residents of the Lusaka informal settlement in Mamelodi from municipal land, arrived in the morning.
”Details are still sketchy, but we know a security officer died when the residents threw stones at the group. Some were also injured,” Ramaloko said.
The fire from the truck apparently spread to the shacks and several burned down. A strong police contingent was dispatched to the scene, Ramaloko said.
He said police were investigating a case of murder and malicious damage to property.
He said residents of the informal settlement were still there but had to be evicted, adding that they had not been occupying the land for long. — Sapa