A total of 550 people have been arrested for attempting to loot shops and cause public violence, the national joint operational and intelligence structure (Natjoints) has said.
The arrests took place on Monday when thousands of people joined EFF-led protests across the country.
Gauteng recorded the highest number of arrests with 149 followed by Northern Cape with 95 arrests. Eighty people were nabbed in Eastern Cape and 64 people were held in Free State.
The Natjoints has since expressed its satisfaction with the manner in which integrated law-enforcement deployments were carried out to ensure law and order during the shutdown.
“The Natjoints is therefore pleased to report that it has delivered on its promise to the inhabitants of this country in ensuring that the measures that are in place enabled businesses and services to operate with minimum incidents of criminality reported throughout the country,” it said in a statement.
It said it will continue to monitor the situation around the country.
The government deployed thousands of law-enforcement officers around the country to keep an eye on opportunistic criminality during the protests.
Numerous security companies were also roped in to provide back-up to the police after threats of violence were made on social media in the build-up to the shutdown.
“The number of tyres confiscated throughout the country remains at 24 300. These were tyres that were strategically placed for acts of criminality,” said Natjoints.
It also thanked numerous public and business fraternity stakeholders for working with law enforcement to uphold and enforce the law.
Speaking to party members and supporters who gathered for a demonstration at Church Square in Pretoria, the country’s capital and the seat of government, Malema said the event was “the most successful shutdown ever in the history of the struggle”.
Malema said the EFF’s only agenda was to see the end of loadshedding and that President Cyril Ramaphosa should resign.
The party also called for the reduction of unemployment, gender-based violence, high levels of crime, and poverty.
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