Criminals, and not legitimate protesters, were responsible for the looting and torching of property during the protests in Balfour, a man identifying himself as a community leader said on Tuesday.

"We have put the protests on hold. Part of what is happening is that we have been overtaken by criminal elements, these are the same people who are looting shops," said Zakhele Maya, leader of a group called Dipaleseng, formed to voice concerns over the local Burnstone Mine's employment and development policies.

This comes after foreigners' shops were looted and their properties and a municipal building set alight over Sunday and Monday.

Twenty-two people were due to appear in the Balfour Magistrate's Court to be charged with public violence as around 60 policemen patrolled the township, whose main entrance was blocked with burning logs.

Maya said the criminals were taking the focus off the main issue ? that the mine was allegedly not keeping its promise to hire half its workforce from the local community.

He accused foreign shopkeepers of having a hand in the violence.

He said before the protests started, they met the shopkeepers and told them of their intention to protest at the mine, and expressed concerns that, in previous uprisings, criminals had taken advantage to loot.

They asked the foreigners to remove cash and merchandise from their shops for their own safety, and had even helped them do so, he explained.

However, during the protests, criminals moved in, and the shopkeepers then turned on the protesters.

He said it was not possible to identify the criminals as they targeted the shopkeepers in the early hours of the morning and it was difficult to find them.

The burning of a municipal office on Monday took place during a "war" between police and others and the situation was too chaotic to identify anyone, he said.

The group wants the Burnstone Mine's licence suspended until their concerns are addressed and they plan to resume their protests and march to the mine when they have been given permission by authorities to do so.

A mine spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.