Tension is mounting in the small farming town of Koster in North West as residents have embarked on violent protests, blockading the road linking their town and Rustenburg. This is in the wake of the arrest of some community members linked to the violent service delivery protests.
Vehicles and property belonging to the current Kgetlengrivier Mayor, Kim Medupe were torched. There is a trail of destruction in the area as sporadic protests continue to plague the small farming town.
After a long battle to restore service delivery in the area, it seems the war for Kgetleng has just begun.
“The police are arresting us. We don’t know why they are arresting us because we are fighting for our rights and when we go to the municipality to ask what is going on they don’t give us the answers we want,” says one of the protesters.
With over 30 people arrested in the past weeks for public violence, some have accused police of pursuing the arrests to weaken the community’s resolve to continue protesting and at the same time downplaying their legitimate demands.
“We tried to meet the police to ask them if they are the ones leading us or is it the municipality but we didn’t get any answers from the police. So we were shocked to see the police come and arrest people. They had initially arrested 31 people and we were shocked to see others get arrested. That’s why things are as they are,” says Community Leader Tshabalala Mabe.
Police and the municipality have denied these accusations.
“The five that were arrested were a part of the on-going investigation following the unrest in the previous weeks, there is no way the police can target people. We are only following investigation because property was burnt and trucks looted,” says South African Police Service’s Ofentse Mokgadi.
Municipal Manager Joseph Mogale says: “We are quite disappointed about the development so far. We are still appealing to the community to allow us as management to render services to them. This is their right. Surely what we have been told is that there have been arrests is something far from management.”
Community leader Tshabalala Mabe was whisked away by police for questioning regarding the incidents of public violence and looting.
