Suspect collapses in court after being remanded in custody

The Namakgale Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo outside Phalaborwa had to adjourn for several hours after a 35-year-old woman collapsed soon after she was remanded back in custody.

The incident happened on Wednesday in full view of bemused people who had come to court to support their friends.

Mavis Malatji, 35, was appearing alongside her co-accused Peter Malatji, who is a member of the South African National Defence Force, for public violence. She was later taken to an unidentified hospital for medical attention, under police guard.

The two were among seven suspects arrested for incidents of public violence that erupted in Phalaborwa, Namakgale and Lulekane last Friday.

The town of Phalaborwa came to a standstill after angry community members barricaded the R71, R40 and other roads in a service delivery march that lasted for two weeks.

Angry residents took to the streets in protest against the contentious recruitment process introduced by the mining companies operating in Phalaborwa. Tempers fled after the mines announced they would apply an
online recruitment style for employees when post were available.

This did not go down well with residents, who wanted a different method to be applied. They want the mines to use manual recruitment, which they said was effective, transparent and user-friendly. They told the mines they wanted all job seekers to submit their applications manually and allow processes to follow.

The residents also wanted all contracts in the mines and in government to be labour intensive and for local people to be given opportunities ahead of “outsiders”.

They argue that more and more companies were employing outsiders first, leaving local people with the necessary skills and qualifications in the lurch. The violent protests, which left many residents baffled, claiming it had hugely disrupted tranquillity in the town, saw thousands of children stay away from their schools, workers away from their works and shops closed.

As a result, one could easily mistake Phalaborwa to be a military base as the only people you could see in the streets were a contingent of police officers and soldiers on patrol.

Limpopo police spokesman Brigadier Motlafela Mojalefa said police arrested more suspects this week – aged between 23 and 53 – for similar offences. He said the suspects were arrested during the targeted raids
that were conducted at identified locations.

The suspects will appear before the Namakgale Magistrate’s Court soon.

The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba, has commended the members for hunting down the suspects.

– news@citizen.co.za