Nine people were arrested for public violence, a ward councillor’s house was torched and trade almost ceased as Cofimvaba went into total lockdown on Thursday. Furious residents had been protesting against a move by Intsika Yethu municipality to demolish 72 illegally-built mud homes on a mountain slope at the edge of town.
The local authority had a court order for the demolition after claiming the houses had been built on a “risky” area. By yesterday only a handful of businesses opened for business while the bulk decided to remain closed until the impasse was resolved. On Thursday the municipality, accompanied by the sheriff of the High Court in Mthatha, Thuso Majokweni, flattened 22 mud houses in an area called Nkanini. The houses are built on a rocky mountain slope just behind the Nyanisweni residential area. Municipal bosses claim the main water pipe from Tsojana Dam to Cofimvaba runs in the area. They also argue that the area was not suitable for houses as it is too rocky and steep. Majokweni told the Daily Dispatch that they couldn’t flatten all the homes because of the steep topography, but confirmed that they managed to demolish about 22 of them. “We will return as there are 72 houses in total.” Municipal spokesman Zuko Tshangana said the municipality had tried to reason with residents on many occasions but many pressed ahead and built houses illegally. When a Dispatch team visited Nkanini on Saturday, many of those whose mud houses had been demolished said they weren’t even given a chance to take their belongings. Anele Sotomela, 24, was in town selling fruit when bulldozers flattened his house. “Everything – clothes, documents, bed, television set, wardrobe, is buried underneath here,” he said. Not far away a distraught Zingisile Kolanisi, 52, was struggling to remove some planks and zinc sheets from the rubble of his home. He is unemployed and survives by doing odd jobs around Cofimvaba. His neighbour No-Ayini Boyce said they were not given notice before their homes were demolished. On Thursday a house belonging to the area’s ward councillor, Malibongwe Gulubele, was torched by an angry mob. Police spokesman Lieutenant Namhla Mdleleni confirmed nine people had been arrested and charged with public violence last week. They are due to appear in the Cofimvaba Magistrate’s Court today. She said a case of arson had also been opened following the torching of houses. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Cofimvaba plunges into chaos
The local authority had a court order for the demolition after claiming the houses had been built on a “risky” area. By yesterday only a handful of businesses opened for business while the bulk decided to remain closed until the impasse was resolved. On Thursday the municipality, accompanied by the sheriff of the High Court in Mthatha, Thuso Majokweni, flattened 22 mud houses in an area called Nkanini. The houses are built on a rocky mountain slope just behind the Nyanisweni residential area. Municipal bosses claim the main water pipe from Tsojana Dam to Cofimvaba runs in the area. They also argue that the area was not suitable for houses as it is too rocky and steep. Majokweni told the Daily Dispatch that they couldn’t flatten all the homes because of the steep topography, but confirmed that they managed to demolish about 22 of them. “We will return as there are 72 houses in total.” Municipal spokesman Zuko Tshangana said the municipality had tried to reason with residents on many occasions but many pressed ahead and built houses illegally. When a Dispatch team visited Nkanini on Saturday, many of those whose mud houses had been demolished said they weren’t even given a chance to take their belongings. Anele Sotomela, 24, was in town selling fruit when bulldozers flattened his house. “Everything – clothes, documents, bed, television set, wardrobe, is buried underneath here,” he said. Not far away a distraught Zingisile Kolanisi, 52, was struggling to remove some planks and zinc sheets from the rubble of his home. He is unemployed and survives by doing odd jobs around Cofimvaba. His neighbour No-Ayini Boyce said they were not given notice before their homes were demolished. On Thursday a house belonging to the area’s ward councillor, Malibongwe Gulubele, was torched by an angry mob. Police spokesman Lieutenant Namhla Mdleleni confirmed nine people had been arrested and charged with public violence last week. They are due to appear in the Cofimvaba Magistrate’s Court today. She said a case of arson had also been opened following the torching of houses. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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