Another day of turmoil for Stutterheim
Police crack down on protest
Police units from 13 Eastern Cape stations moved in on Stutterheim and arrested 18 residents on the second day of flames, stones, rubber bullets and teargas cannisters.
Early in the morning, a mob set alight the modern government-built Mulungisi Commercial Park retail centre in Mlungisi township.
The blaze sent up a solid plume of dark smoke, and firefighters from Stutterheim and Working on Fire finally got it under control by midday.
It was unclear how much of the centre has survived.
The 18 will be charged with public violence.
King William’s Town police cluster commander Brigadier Luntu Ngubelanga said most of those arrested were youths.
Shops were looted in Mlungisi and the Dispatch saw children carrying piles of food in their arms. Children in school uniform were also seen among the protesters.
ATMs at the retail centre were ransacked, but the police would not say if money was stolen.
The Dispatch saw youths pick up three belching teargas cannisters fired at them by police and hurl them back.
Police and reporters alike were pelted with stones.
Amathole district municipal spokesperson Noni Madikizela said the shopping centre was built by ADM in 2013 at a cost of R49m and handed over to Amahlathi municipality in 2014. The mall – which also had conference facilities, a hall and a post office – served as an alternative source of revenue for the municipality, which rented it out to local entrepreneurs.
Eastern Cape health spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha confirmed that a 21-year-old man, who was shot in the town on Tuesday, died later that night in Stutterheim Hospital.
The independent police investigative directorate is probing the police shooting.
With the violence moving from the CBD to Mlungisi, where police skirmished in streets and on the hilly commonage, N6 traffic moved through the town.
Drivers had to navigate through the debris of rocks, burnt rubber and branches.
Ngubelanga said police from 13 police stations, as well as public order police from East London and Cradock, were deployed to the town.
Stutterheim’s CBD was eerily quiet as shopkeepers locked their doors and drew their shutters for fear of looting.
Amahlathi Black Business Forum secretary Siyabulela Makunga called the torching of the centre “senseless” and “hooliganism”. He said the forum’s executive condemned acts of criminality, burning of property and loss of life.
The forum blamed “disgruntled and angry youth”.
Makunga said the violent protest had cost the town further millions in lost business.
The ADM customer care centre, of which footage with tyres and furniture blazing in the foyer on Tuesday went viral, was officially declared closed by Madikizela on Wednesday.
He said they finally managed to inspect the “satellite offices” on Wednesday.
He said: “Since there were armoured police vehicles, we managed to enter our offices and started by moving out all our vehicles from the property.”
The ANC in the Eastern Cape has expressed “extreme” shock over the torched buildings.
Party media liaison officer Judy Mpetsheni said that while the party supported the constitutionally guaranteed right of people to protest, the destruction of public property had a “direct bearing” on the provision of basic social services and on the enjoyment of socio-economic rights.
Mpentsheni said: “We urge Amahlathi community to use all other peaceful means to advance their community demands.”
She urged people to exercise their right to protest through lawful means, “including seeking assistance from institutions established to support democracy, such as Chapter 9 bodies.”
Amahlathi mayor Phatheka Qaba said they they had not yet been able to inspect their burnt-out building because of the volatile situation.
Tyres started burning for the second day at Breidbach, starting at 3pm on Wednesday.
The N2 remained clear, said police spokesperson Captain Siphokazi Mawisa. The public order policing unit and traffic officers were on site.
Resident Carl Matthews said: “The entrance to Breidbach was closed in the morning and police came and cleared the road for people to go to work.
“However, in the afternoon the residents started burning tyres again and the police are here. The residents are still fighting for the same housing problem they have been fighting for, for years," said Matthews.
Mawisa said: “No arrests have been made today.
“The protesters are stopping the cars that are entering Breidbach to tell the residents to sign the petition against their ward councillor.” — Additional reporting by Mamela Gowa..
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
This article is free to read if you register or sign in.
If you have already registered or subscribed, please sign in to continue.
Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@dispatchlive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.