Look! Police Recover Looted Food Items After Deadly Diepkloof Unrest

Police recovered stolen goods, including tinned fish, chicken braai packs, burger patties, and alcohol, during a raid at the Diepkloof hostel in Soweto following a deadly protest on Monday. The unrest, triggered by ongoing frustrations over poor service delivery, saw violent clashes and the looting of delivery trucks.

Earlier in the day, two people were killed and another seriously injured after being struck by a truck amid the chaos. Protesters barricaded roads with burning tires and rocks, torched one truck, and looted another that was attempting to pass through the area.

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) temporarily closed the N12 and N1 highways due to the violence. JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla later confirmed the roads had reopened, although delays remained on the N12 westbound route.

Police Raid Hostel After Protest Turns Deadly

Following the unrest, a large police operation was carried out at the Diepkloof hostel, where officers searched units for stolen goods. Armed police were seen knocking on doors in deteriorating buildings, recovering several food items and alcohol reportedly taken during the looting.

Sibongiseni Khoza, 41, a former hostel resident, explained the dire state of the living conditions. “The blocks were not in a good state, it could collapse anytime,” he told IOL News. He said three of the original four hostel blocks were demolished due to structural instability, and residents were relocated to 68 stand-alone units.

Only one block remains, and it too is in poor condition. “So the people who stay at the block that is left, are complaining and asking for the City of Johannesburg to build stand-alone units on a nearby vacant plot where the three other blocks were demolished,” Khoza said.

Tensions reportedly escalated when residents learned that the remaining section of the hostel had allegedly been sold to a private company. “There’s an issue that the land has been bought by someone… there’s a court interdict that the land must not be used because there’s someone who bought it… People are angry because of the block that they are currently occupying and the issue of the land,” he added.

Residents Plead for Help Amid Crime, Poor Sanitation

Khoza said roughly 130 people still live in the last remaining block, where basic infrastructure is almost non-existent. “They do come to drain those [mobile] toilets twice a week, but sometimes they don’t come and it becomes a problem, because they end up stinking,” he said.

Crime is another major concern in the area. “People get robbed day and night,” Khoza added.

Maria Masilo, 49, who lives near the hostel, expressed her frustration. “Many of the people who are staying at the hostel are using drugs, which I think is something that led them to loot the truck because after doing that they end up selling those items to locals in order to get money to buy drugs… the situation is very bad,” she said.

Masilo said the community has long raised concerns about rampant crime but received little response. “We have been talking about crime in that hostel for a long time. Vehicles are being stolen, people are being killed, robbed. Everyone who passes through that hostel will tell you how dangerous the place is,” she said.

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