Ext. 8 residents toyi-toyi at lack of electricity

A small group of residents of Ext. 8, fed up with the non-availability of electricity since 7 June, took to the streets and burnt tyres in protest.

The group, said to be comprised of about 50 residents, barricaded Chariot of Fire Street in the Far East Bank to demonstrate their anger at having to put up with the non-availability of electricity since 7 June.

The residents mounted their protest soon after 5pm and the police only found out about the protest as late as 7pm on 9 June when Alex News phoned and made inquiries about the protest.

A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said several telephone calls had been made to City Power, and each time they said they would dispatch their technicians and they never did.

“They only came early today and they told us they do not deal with substation boxes but the small metre boxes inside the houses. They then left without doing anything and never returned. It was at this juncture that the residents decided they would embark on a toyi-toyi,” said the resident.

Commander of the Alex Police Station Colonel Nhluvuko Zondi immediately dispatched some members of the police to investigate the commotion in Ext. 8.

“They reported to me that it was a small group of residents that were involved in the toyi-toyi and I then instructed them to order them to disperse and then take up their complaint with City Power the following morning,” Colonel Zondi said.

She said the protest was rather peaceful than violent but that she would not take chances as all protest start relatively peaceful and small but the crowds then grow big and the whole demonstration then falls out of control.

“I was not going to take chances as they may later in the night turn violent and destroy valuable community infrastructure,” Colonel Zondi added.

Alex News will update with information from City Power on when the power will be restored as soon as the information comes to light.