Municipality bows to mob

LYDENBURG – Furious community members of Abelstad in Coromandel protested on the Dullstroom Road on Wednesday at 08:00. A female motorist, who stopped at the scene, was temporarily held against her will by the mob.

Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) off hundreds of illegal connections on Tuesday, sparking the protest action the next day.

The situation was diffused when TCLM adhered to the demand to retore the electricity supply.

The protesters, mostly women, danced, shouted and taunted police officers on the scene.

Also read: WARNING: Protest on Sabie Road, drive with care 

A source said the women placed themselves strategically to distract police officers at the Coromandel turn-off, while the men blocked the Dullstroom Road with burning tyres, trees and rocks.

The women bared their chests and sang, “Noma basidubula ba sishaya siyaya (They may beat us, shoot us, but we will continue)”.

While police were monitoring the situation at the turn-off, the men ran towards the road. The women joined them and they broke through the police and barricaded the road around a bend some 200 metres north of the turn-off.

The angry mob dragged trees, rocks and tyres onto the road and set them alight.  The protesters started throwing rocks at officers.

Also read: Angry workers block road in protest for better wages

Police dispersed the crowd by firing rubber bullets. No officers sustained any injuries. One of the protesters was hit on a leg by a rubber bullet. They ran off to a nearby field.

Police reinforcements arrived from Hazyview and Lydenburg.
TCLM officials rushed to the scene to address the angry crowd.

While officials and residents were waiting to meet at the field to discuss the matter, another mob took a woman hostage. She had been travelling from Dullstroom to Lydenburg and had stopped due to the protest.

A community member pleaded with the group on a cellphone to let the woman go as this was not part of what they wanted to achieve.
Police with Hazmat operator, Mr Deon Broekman, rushed the group. Broekman said she was unharmed.

The mob had demanded money from her. She immediately headed back to Dullstroom.

Police monitored the situation and made sure that motorists were safely rerouted via the Machadodorp Road.

Many motorists expressed their gratitude towards the professional action that officers took during the riot.

After the crowd moved to the field for discussions, police removed the rocks, tyres and burning branches and reopened the road.
By 14:30 TCM officials and community members were in the nearby field.

The protesters demanded an explanation as to why TCLM had cut the electricity without informing them first and insisted that they switch it back on. After several failed attempts by the municipality to initiate negotiations, the officials decided to switch on the electricity.

The protesters were satisfied with this development and dispersed.
Capt Alfred Moela, communications officer of Lydenburg SAPS, confirmed that the road had been cleared and that traffic was flowing once again.