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Johannesburg – Protesters blocked several streets in Atteridgeville on Friday morning, preventing residents from going to work, Gauteng police said.
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They also threw rocks and burned tyres, said spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini.
"We are not yet sure why they are protesting. We are not sure whether it's about the [anti-immigrant] march," he said.
He could also not give an estimate of how many people were taking part in the protest at this stage but said police were monitoring the situation.
The police were also investigating reports of a newspaper truck that was looted.
Protest action in Atteridgeville. (Supplied: CICA)
Tshwane metro police spokesperson Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said they had received reports of several shops being looted, but had yet to confirm the incidents.
Morning Live anchor Leanne Manas on Friday tweeted that a news camera and other equipment had been "confiscated" by protesters in Atteridgeville.
She later tweeted that the news crew managed to negotiate with protesters to get the equipment back.
"#Atteridgeville protestors say media portray them in a negative light & call it #xenophobia when all they want is to get rid of criminals," she tweeted.
#Atteridgeville protestors say media portray them in a negative light & call it #xenophobia when all they want is to get rid of criminals
— Leanne Manas (@LeanneManas) February 24, 2017
SABC news crew have managed to negotiate with protestors to get equipment back. Protestors say they do not trust the media #atteridgeville
— Leanne Manas (@LeanneManas) February 24, 2017
On Saturday, residents of Pretoria West raided homes they alleged were being used as brothels and drug dens. They called for "pimps" to release prostitutes. Two houses were set alight.
On February 11, at least 10 houses allegedly being used for drug dealing and prostitution were set alight in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Locals claimed Nigerians were behind the criminal activity.
A group calling itself the Mamelodi Concerned Residents is expected to march to the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria on Friday to protest against immigrants in South Africa.
Security services said "scores of people" are expected to take part in the march.
Law enforcement officers would be deployed along the route and at venues where memorandums will be handed over, the police's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure said in a statement on Thursday.
