The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the death of a man‚ which sparked outrage in Soshanguve‚ north of Pretoria‚ on Friday afternoon.

National police spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said officers from the area's station had been trying to carry out an arrest and "a 30-year-old man subsequently died".

IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the protest action made it difficult for an IPID investigator to asses the scene. When it was assessed by the public order police and the K9 unit‚ the man’s body had already been transferred to the Ga-Rankuwa government mortuary.

Dlamini said details were sketchy at this stage‚ but it was alleged that on Friday‚ the crime prevention unit and police were conducting a cluster operation at the T-junction of Commissioner Street‚ a few metres from the police station.

“There was a group of young men selling copied CDs and DVDs. The police officers surrounded the group of young men‚ who ran in different directions. One of the young men fell to the ground and died.”

Dlamini said his department would visit the scene to seek for more witnesses.

The post-mortem will be done on November 5.

Naidoo said an inquest docket has been opened and police are investigating a charge of malicious damage to property. "The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has been called in to conduct an investigation and we will make a determination thereof if the case is going to be converted to a criminal investigation‚" Naidoo said.