Riot as president skips Stutterheim
Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to visit small EC town sparks protest action
“Why did President Cyril Ramaphosa not come to Stutterheim and listen to our grievances?”
This was the question raised by a small group of protesters who tried to revive the service delivery protest in Stutterheim on Monday.
When the Dispatch visited the town in the morning, about 20 young men blocked the entrance to Mlungisi township with bricks and tree branches.
They also threw stones and bottles at five police officers. As the protesters got closer, police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to disperse the small crowd.
The N6 was not affected. Protester Sam Bodlindlu told the Dispatch they were informed that the president was in East London at the weekend. The information fuelled their anger, leaving them asking why Ramaphosa had not visited Stutterheim as well.
“We will protest until the president comes here himself. We do not want his representatives. We were told that he visited East London and King William’s Town but did not come to our town. We also have challenges we wanted to tell him about,” he said.
He said they wanted Ramaphosa to intervene with municipal matters at the Amahlathi Municipality.
Stutterheim residents have been protesting against alleged nepotism and corruption at the municipality.
Bodlindlu said the protest action started on Sunday – forcing some businesses in town to not open on Monday.
“The businesses have closed because we started to protest again and we will not back down until things are resolved,” Bodlindlu said.
However, none of the shops that was closed on Monday had put up a notice saying they had closed due to the protest.
One shop had a notice that read: “We are closed because we are training staff.”
Resident Zimkhitha Kotishini said the situation had a negative impact on people as they had to first get permission from the protesters to pass through to town.
“These guys started with the protest this morning. We don’t have water so people get water in town and they are scared to walk through the protesters.”
Four Grade 10 girls from Stutt Maths and Science Academy said the situation was affecting their final school examinations. They said whenever there were protests, they were caught in the crossfire as protesters pelted them with stones while on their way to and from school.
Police spokesperson Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said no arrests had been made.
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said law enforcement officers and police would continue to monitor the situation. He advised motorists to avoid the area...
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