Soldiers on foot were out in full force in parts of Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg, on day 1 of the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Friday.
The presence of the soldiers undoubtedly changed the mood in the streets. Where people were previously walking about and gathering, they quickly dispersed at the sight of the soldiers. Some ran into their houses as the men in brown and green shouted"inside, inside”.
For many small business owners, it was business as usual earlier but one by one, they shut their roller doors at the command of the soldiers. “Close your store Gogo,” they sternly told her, helping her to douse the flames inside a tin drum she had used to warm up the pap and vleis she had been selling.
At one point, the men in camouflage came across a taxi filled with workers heading home. The Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers who led the convoy of soldiers stopped the taxi.
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