South African Police said Monday that two people were killed in alleged shootings during protests over the cost of electricity in the country.
Residents angry at the high cost of basic services barricaded roads with burning tyres and set ablaze a municipal building in Thembisa township northeast of the financial hub Johannesburg.
There were “two fatal injuries” linked to “the protest action that occurred during the early hours of this morning”, according to local municipal police spokeswoman, Kelebogile Thepa.
“It’s alleged they have been shot,” she told AFP.
A spokeswoman for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate watchdog earlier told AFP it had recorded a case of shooting “by a member of the police”.
Investigations are underway.
Protests over poor services occur regularly in South Africa, which is battling some of the highest unemployment and crime rates in the world.
