Protesters block a busy road in Philippi, Cape Town, with burning tyres. (Sandiso Faliso/GroundUp)
- In Philippi, Western Cape, protesters burned tyres, blocked roads, hurled stones at cars and set buses on fire.
- Independent candidate Zakky Ahmat's car was shot at.
- Find out everything you need to know about the 2024 general election in News24's elections hub.
Plumes of black smoke hung in the sky above Philippi on Tuesday night, the eve of the election, as young people wearing balaclavas and masks blocked major roads with burning tires and stones.
Traffic lights were on at the corner of Sheffield Road and New Eisleben Road, forcing drivers to find an alternative route.
Stones were hurled at passing cars on nearby Vietnam Street, and the atmosphere was tense, with small spaza shops, butchers and vegetable stalls closing for fear of being looted, according to Ground Up.
Earlier that same morning, a Golden Arrow bus was set on fire near the bus stop.
It is unclear what the purpose of the protest was.
Last November, angry residents disrupted a voter registration process and chased away South African Electoral Commission officials, but this year community leaders and police assured residents there would be no disruption.
Ground Up spoke to two community leaders on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday night for fear of intimidation.
“What is happening here, the destruction of property and roads, the intimidation of innocent people and motorists going about their daily lives, is all political and an attempt to disrupt tomorrow's elections.” [Wednesday]”These are the same people who complain that the roads need to be fixed tomorrow, but they are the ones destroying the roads themselves,” one community leader said.
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The attempted hijacking of a car carrying independent candidate Zackie Ahmat occurred on Tuesday afternoon. He and members of his team were driving through the Philippines to campaign for Wednesday's election when at least two men tried to hijack their car.
One of the men fired shots at the car. Bullets hit it, but Ahmat and his companions fled. No one was injured. Ahmat said he did not believe he was personally targeted.
Another community leader said the violence must be condemned: “All of the people committing these acts are known. If we all told the truth and truly wanted peace in our communities, we would hold them accountable, but we are all afraid of being identified.”
About 45 minutes after the group began burning tires, two police vehicles arrived and the protesters dispersed, throwing rocks at officers.