State Security Minister David Mahlobo said on Tuesday that the government knew who was fuelling civil unrest in Tshwane.

"We know the people who are involved, but we are not going to conduct our investigation in public," he said at a security cluster briefing in Pretoria.

The riots and unrest were understood to be linked to the announcement of Thoko Didiza as the African National Congress’s Tshwane mayoral candidate.

Residents were protesting and blockading roads in Atteridgeville and Soshanguve. Looting was also reported in Atteridgeville and Mamelodi.

Mahlobo said they would not reveal details of investigations into criminal cases or intelligence-gathering methods.

"We are expecting more arrests and we are not going to announce who we are investigating and who we are going to arrest. That is not how the security services work.

"All of us [members of the security cluster] have not slept. Had we not acted, the damage would have been worse," he said.