Cape Town mayor Helen Zille will take disciplinary action against the city’s metro police who blocked the N2 in Cape Town on Wednesday, her office said.
Zille spokesperson Robert Macdonald said the mayor had said ”urgent disciplinary measures” would be instituted and that criminal charges had also been laid with the South African Police Service.
About 100 metro police officers from the city’s crime-prevention unit travelled from the N2 near the Athlone power station to the civic centre in their official cars and carried official firearms at the time, he said.
The protest was ”unprotected industrial action” and the criminal charges were laid by the metro police chief.
The metro police is made up of three units, dealing with traffic, law enforcement and city crime prevention, Macdonald said.
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news said that the protesters, travelling in convoy, had slowed early morning traffic to a crawl.
The protest was over staff restructuring and new grades. The officers also wanted to be paid more, said the SABC. — Sapa