The Steve Tshwete Municipality has officially rejected the application for the planned ‘Middelburg Shutdown’ following a wave of viral messages and posters calling for a total shutdown of the town tomorrow.

Lerato Kgomo, media spokesperson, released the municipality’s official position on the matter, stating: “The Municipality, unfortunately, does not consider the notice to hold a public gathering as the application received did not comply with Section 3(3) of the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993. The applicant was advised that approval of a future public gathering can be considered once the necessary information is contained in the prescribed form and submitted in terms of the provisions of the Regulation of Gatherings Act. The application was disapproved and not supported by the municipality. Should the march proceed on the anticipated date (November 24), such a march will be considered as unprotected.”

Concerns

This follows earlier concerns about whether the organisers had secured the necessary permissions for the march. With the municipality confirming that the application did not meet legal requirements, residents are now cautioned that any gathering on the day will not have official protection under the Regulation of Gatherings Act.

Police monitoring developments

Earlier today, the provincial police confirmed that they are aware of the circulating shutdown messages and scheduled a meeting with the station commander and relevant stakeholders to assess the situation.

No further official guidance has yet been issued by the police, but authorities are expected to release additional information once their assessment is complete.

The Middelburg Observer will continue to follow developments and publish updates as soon as new information becomes available.