The 15 women convicted of public violence charges in Colenso, in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, have spent their first night with their families, after a long time in detention.
They were released after the Escourt regional court withdrew charges against one of the accused, and the other accused pleaded guilty.
The women were arrested in August after a service delivery protest which resulted in a total closure of the R103 for an hour.
Sentencing is expected on the November 16.
Colenso community leader Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, “Indeed it is a victory because you see they have been incarcerated for two months without bail so we are celebrating a lot, it is a victory. They were crying I had time to speak to them. They were crying because now their names are with a previous conviction, that’s why they were crying.
“Some of them are still young, they need to be employed that is now their problem. The previous convictions, yes we are still going to carry on with the struggle regardless of what happened today, we as the leaders of the community will make sure that we participate lawfully.”
