#BlackMonday protests cause traffic delays on Vereeniging-Johannesburg route
A University of the Witwatersrand lecturer was among hundreds of motorists who were left frustrated this morning on the R82 towards Vereeniging‚ as farmers barricaded the road with trucks and tractors.
The farmers‚ wearing black outfits‚ were part of the #BlackMonday blockade to demand action against farm killings.
"I stay in Vereeniging‚ and I had an appointment with my students at 10:15 am‚" said the Wits lecturer‚ who wished to remain anonymous. “I was surprised to find a long queue of cars‚ and we have been here for an hour. This is surprising – because when it is black people who are protesting‚ police are quick to use rubber bullets.”
Motorists had to find alternative routes to and from Johannesburg. By 9:30am‚ disgruntled motorists were trying to force their way through the blockade. One motorist said that protestors had no rights to close the road‚ to which the farmers responded by asking him if it was akay for them to be killed.
A Community Policing Forum member said that the road closure began at about 9am. He added: "This is not about us‚ but the crime that is happening in South Africa. We are not fighting with anyone; we only want to be heard. Farm murders should be stopped.”
The road was finally re-opened at 10:50am.
-SowetanLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.