Although the community of Hekpoort has been in the spotlight a lot this past week, in reality they have been fighting for far longer.
The Freedom Front Plus’ Amanda de Lange voiced her concerns on Facebook recently, saying the Hekpoort community has been held hostage by protesters who are trying to force the ANC to keep their election promises. She explained that there is almost nothing left of the towns Magaliesburg and Hekpoort, which used to attract many tourists.
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https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/385711/violent-protests-vehicles-set-on-fire-roads-blocked/
“Historic buildings have been burned down and stolen piece by piece,” she said.
According to De Lange, the promises made before the elections are not being kept and voters are now fed lies as excuses for why these promises cannot be kept.
She went on to say that in the mean time, these angry protesters are burning down and destroying everything in their path in their attempt to be heard.
One of these instances occurred on the morning of Monday, 23 July when a private vehicle, among others, was set alight by angry protesters.
Charlene Engelbrecht’s husband was driving the bakkie, and she said that they want their voices to be heard as well.
“I personally feel that our voices must also be heard. We live in Hekpoort but you don’t see us going around burning things to the ground in an attempt to be seen and heard. What must we do or say then?” she said.
She described the situation in Hekpoort as being volatile and the residents as being fed up.
“We also want to keep our land, we want to be able to drive to work, school and home without fear for our lives,” she explained in a Facebook post.
She told the story of what happened to her husband on the morning that his bakkie was set alight. She said he was travelling in his work vehicle. The road had been damaged during the previous day’s protests and one of the vehicle’s tyres sustained some damage. He had stopped to change the tyre when the protesters spotted him.
“About 40 to 50 people came storming at him with rocks and sticks, and only after he begged for his life did they let him go,” she told.
She went on to say that her husband ran to the police, who left him to watch his bakkie burn out. Only after the bakkie was completely burned out and the protesters had retreated, did the police venture out to the scene.
In her Facebook post she asked what would have happened if the protesters had not let her husband go, what if they had set fire to the bakkie with him still in it?
She wants to know who is taking responsibility. The bakkie was the only transport the family had to get their children to school and themselves to work.
Laerskool Hekpoort was also closed this past week as the violent protests threatened the safety of the children.
After a previous article in the News, warning road users of the protests, many commented about how they do not understand why they have to suffer for empty promises made by the ruling party, nor do they understand why their cars are being stoned, their roads damaged and closed, and their lives put at risk for something that was not their fault.
In her Facebook post, De Lange explained that the Executive Mayor of Mogale City, Naga Patrick Lipudi was on holiday when the protesters started their violent tirade.
“The FF Plus served him with a letter demanding him to step up,” she said.
She ended by saying that the community can be sure the FF Plus will take up these issues.
It seems that for now the protests have quietened down, but it is alleged that the protesters want to talk to the Mayor.
