BOIPATONG. – Tensions in Boipatong have escalated with the appearance of election posters from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
What was supposed o be a period of political campaigning has become a point of contention, as residents are outraged by what they see as a disregard for their community’s history.
Many residents are deeply affected by the sight of IFP posters plastered across walls and lampposts, which has stirred up painful memories of the past.
The scars of the 1992 Boipatong massacre, where 46 people were brutally murdered, still haunt the community.
This massacre, one of apartheid’s most infamous instances of political violence, allegedly involved IFP members colluding with security forces to attack residents who supported the African National Congress (ANC).
In conversations with Ster, residents expressed their frustration and called for the removal of the posters.
Thandiwe Mbatha remarked: “These posters disrespect the memory of those who lost their lives here. How can they campaign here as if nothing happened? We will never forget what they did to us.”
Another resident, Sipho Khumalo, pointed out that the wounds from that dark chapter in history have not healed and that the appearance of IFP election material has only reopened them.
“We fought too hard for our freedom to allow those responsible for our suffering to campaign on our streets. This goes against everything we believe in,” Khumalo added.
At the time of going to print, IFP national spokesman had not responded to enquiries from Ster.
