MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

March and March Protests

On Monday, 08 June 2026, the SAPS together with EMPD continued to monitor the March and March protests that have been happening in the province. Today they started in Kwa Thema with approximately 1000 protestors and the group increased as they proceeded to Springs where they handed over a Memorandum which was received by the Acting Station Commander of Springs, Colonel Ramlall.

The crowd was peaceful and dispersed without any incidents reported. The police will continue to monitor the protests. The public is reminded that, although protesting, picketing and demonstrations are protected by the constitution, this should be done peacefully, without violence, intimidation or any form of unlawful conduct.

Public Order Policing will always be deployed to monitor all protests to ensure crowd management and that order is maintained.

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.