Chaos erupted in Carletonville’s central business area when unruly protesters smashed windows, forcing
the police to retaliate.
The morning of 8 March started relatively quietly with a meeting of the MPPF (Merafong Progressive Partnership
Forum) in the park in front of the Carletonville municipal library at about 09:30. Earlier this year, this group started action to get more local people employed at mines in the area.
In January, members of this group held a large gathering in front of the offices of Teba (The Employment Bureau of
Africa) Limited in Palladium Street as part of the action. This resulted in Teba obtaining an interdict against leaders
of the protest, prohibiting them from coming close to the business.
Although the meeting in the park took place without issues, problems seemingly erupted when the leaders of
the action left for a meeting with Sibanye Gold.
As far as could be determined, some younger job seekers first started burning tyres in front of the municipal offices
in Halite Street before they moved to the street in front of Teba. Here, they overturned rubbish bins and some
members of the group went into the Teba offices.
An argument apparently broke out between the community members and some Teba staff, after which the members
came out.
All hell broke loose when some of the job seekers outside the building proceeded to overturn rubbish bins and
smash the windows, not only in front of the Teba offices but also elsewhere outside the building.
Members of the Carletonville Police’s crime prevention and crowd control units, who had rushed to the scene,
fired several rubber bullets at the vandals.
On Tuesday, the communications officer of the police in Carletonville, Warrant Officer Peter Masoea, told the Herald
that one community member, Ms Nontgemselo Thumbo, had been charged in relation to the incident.
Thumbo (24) appeared in the Oberholzer magistrates’ court on Monday on charges of malicious damage to property
and disturbing the peace.
‘Residents must know that if they hold illegal gatherings it will yield negative results. Even if a march is authorised,
we, as the police, will secure and protect lives and property if things get out of hand,’ Masoea warned.
The chairman of the MPPF, Mr Abie Malefo, told the Herald after the incident that people who had previously
gathered as part of his group had been warned not to go to Teba or take matters into their own hands.
‘We have previously held many disciplined, orderly and legal protests. We do not condone such actions at all,’
Malefo said.
