The ongoing feud between Mthatha hawkers and city officials has taken a turn for the worse with hawkers now accusing municipal police of assaulting them.
South African Hawkers’ Association leader Fundile Jalile claimed yesterday at least a dozen hawkers were injured and others admitted to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital after municipal law-enforcement officers allegedly assaulted them.
Last week, scores of angry vendors sat in at the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal offices (Munitata building) in protest over the confiscation of shipping containers and caravans from which they trade.
KSD hit back saying hawkers were parking their containers on pavements and obstructing traffic and violating by-laws and other road traffic laws.
The hawkers have staged sit-ins at the municipality’s office every day since their containers were confiscated.
Jalile said there was no justification for the attacks on the protesters.
“This was just an ordinary sit-in, they were posing no danger and you must remember that many of these hawkers are old women and young ladies – what harm can they possibly do?” Jalile asked.
He said the “savage” manner in which the hawkers were treated shows a “gross” disregard of their rights on the municipality’s part.
“Our government preaches Vuk’uzenzele and when people try to make a living, they treat us like this. Many of these hawkers have now gone at least two weeks without eating because if they do not sell, they cannot feed their families,” he said.
Jalile said government should not pride itself in having liberated the country when they caused so many people to starve.
“You cannot take the only bread of the poorest of the poor because the only indigenous people who are trading or having business here are the hawkers, all the business here are being occupied and owned by the people from outside, not the Africans per se but people from Europe, people from India, people from China. Now why is our government taking the only bread ?” asked Jalile.
Mthatha police spokeswoman Captain Dineo Koena could not confirm the attacks, saying no cases had been opened. At the time of writing, lawyer for the hawkers, Sindile Toni, said they were at the Madeira Police Station to press charges.
Meanwhile KSD has beefed up security at its Munitata building because, said KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza, the hawkers were beginning to cause a threat to the building.
He said he could not comment on the incident as he was out of town but said an investigation would be conducted to determine what had happened. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
Hawkers, KSD spat intensifies
South African Hawkers’ Association leader Fundile Jalile claimed yesterday at least a dozen hawkers were injured and others admitted to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital after municipal law-enforcement officers allegedly assaulted them.
Last week, scores of angry vendors sat in at the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal offices (Munitata building) in protest over the confiscation of shipping containers and caravans from which they trade.
KSD hit back saying hawkers were parking their containers on pavements and obstructing traffic and violating by-laws and other road traffic laws.
The hawkers have staged sit-ins at the municipality’s office every day since their containers were confiscated.
Jalile said there was no justification for the attacks on the protesters.
“This was just an ordinary sit-in, they were posing no danger and you must remember that many of these hawkers are old women and young ladies – what harm can they possibly do?” Jalile asked.
He said the “savage” manner in which the hawkers were treated shows a “gross” disregard of their rights on the municipality’s part.
“Our government preaches Vuk’uzenzele and when people try to make a living, they treat us like this. Many of these hawkers have now gone at least two weeks without eating because if they do not sell, they cannot feed their families,” he said.
Jalile said government should not pride itself in having liberated the country when they caused so many people to starve.
“You cannot take the only bread of the poorest of the poor because the only indigenous people who are trading or having business here are the hawkers, all the business here are being occupied and owned by the people from outside, not the Africans per se but people from Europe, people from India, people from China. Now why is our government taking the only bread ?” asked Jalile.
Mthatha police spokeswoman Captain Dineo Koena could not confirm the attacks, saying no cases had been opened. At the time of writing, lawyer for the hawkers, Sindile Toni, said they were at the Madeira Police Station to press charges.
Meanwhile KSD has beefed up security at its Munitata building because, said KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza, the hawkers were beginning to cause a threat to the building.
He said he could not comment on the incident as he was out of town but said an investigation would be conducted to determine what had happened. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
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