Twenty-nine people arrested for public violence following the looting of some Spaza shops in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, are expected to appear in court tomorrow.
The looting occurred after 47 students from the Ihobe Combined School in the area were hospitalized for suspected food poisoning.
The arrests took place after residents went on the rampage.
Food poisoning I Foreign-owned Spaza shops in Mangaung were looted overnight:
Meanwhile, the South African Union of Spaza Shops has urged citizens not to rent out their spaces to spaza shop owners.
Those who have rented out their accommodation say it has been a difficult journey.
“We had a very bad experience when we rented the store to these foreigners. It’s been years, they stay here, but where they stay, they like to stay on their own terms, they don’t want to take what we tell them as owners of the place. So we finally asked them if they had papers, but they told us there is no law in South Africa why we would want papers. They want to pay the rent according to their terms, they would tell us that we are not making any money, but still you can see how many customers they have. So in the end we didn’t have a good understanding and we said no to them, because you don’t want to listen to us, you want to control us in our space, then it’s better that you leave. It’s like they’re bitter when you chase them into your own space.
Refilwe Mekoa
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