The police, together with members of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), had to clear the barricaded routes on Monday morning following a protest by residents who were complaining about electricity.

Soweto residents blocked most major routes including the Old Potchefstroom Road between Klipspruit and Pimville, causing Rea Vaya bus services to be called off by the company as a precaution.  

Chris Hani Road was among the blocked roads by the residents demanding the reinstatement of electricity in certain areas and better service delivery.

The long stretch road going up to the Nike Stadium saw groups of community members milling around as the SAPS and the JMPD removed the rocks and paving bricks that were used to temporarily disrupt traffic along that route.

Among the residents who stood by watching was Lucy Mohapi, who shared that community leaders started barricading the roads at approximately 1am, preparing for the morning when people would be rushing to work or school.

“Our reasons are simple ... we are facing electricity problems as Sowetans, the price of patrol and other service delivery issues,” said the 60-year-old.

“If you drive around Pimville and Klipspruit, you will find that certain areas have electricity while some areas don’t and that is what we are fighting against,” she said, adding a bigger strike is expected on Tuesday.

Maponya Mall was also closed for most of the morning. A local resident from Klipspruit, who spoke anonymously, said they are tired of the ANC and this shutdown is just a start.

“Eskom has disconnected many areas in Soweto by taking electricity boxes. They are demanding R6,000 fine from these households but if you look at most of these homes, these are people who are living off grants. The R350 grant is also not enough to take care of our daily needs, how then are we expected to pay the hefty electricity fine?” he asked.

Another bystander said the issue of electricity has affected many homes and schools and the government seems not to care. “As we speak, there was a cable fault that was reported yesterday at around 5am in one of the areas, but the power is still off. But if this was in the suburbs, the issue would have been long fixed.”

Eskom spokesperson Amanda Qithi did not respond to questions sent to her.