Angry Shawela residents block the road after hit and run incident

RESIDENTS of Shawela village outside Giyani blocked the road between Giyani and Phalaborwa on Thursday in protest against the government’s failure to respond to their request for speed bumps on that road.

The road was barricaded with logs, rocks and burning tyres, but was reopened when the police arrived and dispersed the angry residents.

Motorists using the road between 11:00 and 13:00 had to turn back or use alternative roads to avoid the stone-throwing protesters.

Their protest came after a teenager died in a hit and run accident on the same road last week. “What worries us the most is that we asked for speed bumps to be erected long again, but no one listened, and now someone has died because of a speeding car,” one of the residents, David Nkuna, said.

“It’s been two or three months since we had a meeting with the officials from the department of roads and transport to complain about speeding cars on this road, but they are taking too long to respond. This is our way of forcing them to be quicker,” he added.

When asked how many people had died on the road so far, Nkuna said he had lost count but there were many.

“I don’t have the record on hand but we’re losing lives and livestock on this road every now and then because of speeding motorists,” he said.

Giyani police spokesperson WO Thomas Makhubele said the police had not received any reports of damage to vehicles during the protest.

“It was a small group that was rioting and we managed to disperse them and restore the peace,” he said, adding that the police would monitor the area to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.