North West mayor’s house, cars torched in service delivery protest

Kgetlengrivier mayor Kim Medupe’s house and guesthouse were set alight during a service delivery protest in Koster in North West on Wednesday.

Residents in Reagile went on the rampage, barricading roads with rocks, burning tyres and logs. The small farming town west of Rustenburg was locked down as protesting residents torched the mayor’s house, her guesthouse and four vehicles at her house. A van at the guesthouse was also torched, while some shops were looted.

Protesters also made off with appliances from the mayor’s house and the guesthouse.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Community leader Israel Matsile said residents were not happy about service delivery in the small farming town.

“This protest is for very poor service delivery. We have been sidelined for far too long. When we speak the municipality does not hear us. When we ask for meetings with people from infrastructure they tell us they have their own meetings to attend,” he said.

“We don’t have roads, our educated young people don’t have jobs … we want services and where do we ask for services if our municipality that is supposed to serve us refuses. We are humans too. We cannot and we won’t stop because we are also people and have needs.”

Rustenburg police spokesperson Sergeant Ofentse Mokgadi said no arrests had yet been made.

– African News Agency (ANA)