The arrests come ahead of a planned protest by South Africa’s third-largest party against the country’s economic woes.
South African security forces say 87 people have been arrested across the country in the past 12 hours for public violence ahead of planned protests by the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.
The EFF, the country’s third-largest party, has called for a national shutdown to protest crippling power cuts and demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“No one can stop a revolution,” EFF leader Julius Malema told supporters on Friday.
Ports, parliament, border crossings and the Johannesburg stock exchange, among others, will be the target of protests, Malema said.
The party has strong support from poor, working-class black South Africans who have felt excluded from the country’s prosperity since the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ended rule by the white minority in 1994.
Authorities said a large number of police would be on hand to deal with any violence.
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS) said in a statement that of the 87 arrested, 41 were in Gauteng, the province that includes the capital Pretoria and the main city of Johannesburg, 29 in North West Province and 15 in Free State. There have also been arrests in other provinces such as Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African army will deploy 3,474 soldiers for a month until April 17 to prevent and fight crime in coordination with the police.
“Law enforcement is on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat criminal acts,” NatJOINTS said.
