Mpumalanga Community Safety and Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe has welcomed the arrest of 23 suspects for public violence during a service delivery protest in Thandukukhanya Township in Piet Retief.
Shongwe has also called on the police to urgently finalise investigations into the violent protests in order to deal urgently with the transgressors.
He said the wrong doers must be harshly dealt with in order to instil a culture of responsible and peaceful protesting in communities.
According to police reports, four of the suspects were charged with incitement and nineteen were charged with public violence. They were arrested between Sunday and Monday (12 and 13 May 2013).
During the protests, three police vehicles and buildings including houses of councillors were torched and protesters also broke into foreigners’ shops and looted groceries. The protesters also barricaded roads.
MEC Shongwe says public violence will not be tolerated as it cripples government with funds to fix damaged properties.
“Every citizen has a right to protest when there is no service delivery, but it is a crime when people damage properties or violate other people’s rights during these protests, and criminality should be tolerated regardless of issues at hand.
“While we acknowledge some of the challenges that may exist with regard to services, community leaders must play a role of a middle man between government and the community to advise in order to avoid a situation where dissatisfaction results to violence,” said Shongwe.
Meanwhile, MEC Shongwe has been deployed to Thandukukhanya today (14 May 2015) to restore calm.
Enquiries:
Joseph Mabuza
Tel: 013 766 4055
Cell: 082 678 1450
