Two killed in S.Africa pre-election violence: police

A charred bus in Mamelodi on June 22 after three days of riots. By Mujahid Safodien (AFP)

Johannesburg (AFP) - Two people have been killed and more than 40 arrested in pre-election violence in townships around South Africa's capital Pretoria, police said Wednesday.

Police spokeswoman Noxolo Kweza said two people were killed on Tuesday night after shops were looted in Mamelodi township in the wake of internal ANC protests linked to upcoming municipal elections.

Factional violence broke out late Monday over the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party's choice of a mayoral candidate in Pretoria for the hotly-contested vote on August 3.

"We have arrested more than 40 people since yesterday and this morning for different crimes related to the protests," Kweza told AFP adding that peace had been restored by Wednesday morning.

No details were released on how the two victims died. Police said those arrested had been charged with violence, theft and possession of stolen property.

At least 20 buses were torched in Mamelodi on Monday during protests sparked by the ANC's choice of Thoko Didiza as mayoral candidate.

Didiza, a former minister under the late president Nelson Mandela, was nominated by the ANC amid deep local divisions over the proposed candidates for Tshwane mayor, the municipality that includes Pretoria.

Some protesters complained that although she lives in Pretoria she is an outsider as she hails from Durban, a port city in the east of the country.

Senior ANC figures condemned the violence, with party secretary general Gwede Mantashe blaming the destruction of property on "thuggery".

Several deaths attributed to tension between rival factions within the ANC have been reported around the country in the run-up to the August elections.

The party, which led the struggle against apartheid and has ruled since 1994, could be dealt an electoral blow due to record unemployment and the dire conditions in which many black people still live.

"While the ANC is still popular in rural communities... the party has lost significant support in the largest cities," Robert Besseling, of risk advisers EXX Africa, said in an email.

"Socio-economic grievances will intensify ongoing political unrest."