eMbalenhle Police arrest another EFF councillor for public violence

An EFF councillor, Thabiso Mofokeng, was arrested and charged with public violence on July 24.

This comes after another EFF councillor from Kinross, Dan Khoza, was also arrested earlier this year during the Kinross water protest and he was also charged with public violence.

Mofokeng was arrested after he allegedly led the community of Ext 11 in eMbalenhle to the Govan Mbeki Municipality’s technical yard to demand electricity.

These residents were without electricity for nearly 10 days because of a faulty transformer.

When they reported it to the municipality, they were told that it would only be fixed if they could allow the municipality to install the new electricity smart meters.

That angered the residents who went straight to the technical yard with Mofokeng to demand electricity.

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They then blocked the gate and an argument between the municipal employees began in the presence of the police. The municipality’s law enforcers went to the police station to open a case against Mofokeng.

Mofokeng was called to the police station and after a long meeting with the station management, he was charged with inciting public violence.

He told the media before his arrest that the politicians and directors in the technical department are depriving consumers of their rights.

“If the transformer gets defects, the municipality will install smart meters by force and the residents want electricity not new meters,” said Mofokeng.

“I am the community’s representative and I was elected by them. My sin was to respond to their outcries and now I have to be arrested for fighting for their rights to have electricity.

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“As their councillor, I had to intervene by leading them to the municipality’s technical yard where we were told by officials that smart meters will be installed forcefully before our community can get electricity and that is against the Consumers Protection Act.

“I demand the public consultation meetings’ report that proves that the consultations were done about installing those meters,” said Mofokeng.

The municipal mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, said there are interventions to curb electricity losses.

Zuma told council during the council meeting that was held on July 25, that they saw it necessary to install a smart electricity meter inside of every household and business to curb electricity losses.

The spokesperson of eMbalenhle police, Constable Busi Mthethwa, confirmed that a case was opened against the councillor and was taken to court for the decision.

Mofokeng was released on the same day. In the meantime Khoza will appear in the Evander Magistrate’s Court again on August 1.