Continuing throughout the day, residents, who vowed not to back down till their grievances are addressed, became violent by mid afternoon resulting in police firing rubber bullets into the crowd and injuring at least two people.
There were also 12 arrests made.
EMPD spokesperson Clifford Shongwe, says two motor vehicles were damaged and one EMPD car was smashed by the protesters.
“Two protesters also sustained injuries while the SAPS and EMPD tried to disperse the crowd.
“The 64-year-old driver of a car, that was damaged by rocks, sustained a head injury and was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Taking action
Residents blocked Welgedacht and Enstrada roads with rocks and burning tyres following the alleged rape of an elderly woman (age unknown) in the early hours of Monday morning.
The community says the perpetrators went into the woman’s shack and raped her at gunpoint.
It is believed her children or grandchildren were present during the incident.
According to residents, the woman was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
“When the woman screamed, the community came out to try and help.
“However, when the police were called, they came in three vans and when we showed them the suspects, they just fired a warning shot, saying they are afraid of these people and it’s dark, and they left,” says one angry resident.
“What are we supposed to do as these people are attacking us in our homes and there is nothing the police are doing to protect us?” says one woman.
As residents gathered to protest, the SAPS and EMPD were called in to restore calm to the area.
Angry protesters refused to back down and sang loudly in their presence, saying ‘enough is enough’.
During the protest, a crowd was seen running into the informal settlement, where one shack was set alight.
It is unclear why the shack was burnt down, but some residents say the people living there own guns.
“The level of crime in this area is too high, and we fear for our lives day and night.
“These perpetrators are attacking us even in our own homes and they don’t care as they rape women, children and men.
“If it’s not that, they rape the women in front of their partners while the men are forced to witness this evil act.
“When we call the police they say they are afraid of these attackers, or it’s dark and there is nothing they can do about it,” says one resident.
A grandmother says they are not safe and that they will end up sleeping at the police station if nothing is done to help them.
She adds that one of her neighbours has been raped more than five times, but the police are not doing anything about it.
Another resident says they don’t want the police in the area any more as they do nothing to help the community.
“The SAPS should rather send in the army or leave us to kill each other, as we are prepared to take the law into our own hands because none of us are safe here, even though the police station is just up the road.
“When we go to the station, we are always told that they don’t know what’s happening.
“But when they see ‘zama zamas’ they are not afraid to come here, so we will solve this on our own,” he says.
This is the second protest to hit the area in two weeks.
A violent protest took place recently after a family was brutally attacked leaving the mother injured, her son dead and her daughter raped.
Police comment
Springs SAPS spokesman, Capt Johannes Ramphora says they are not aware of any rape that took place in the Gugulethu Everest informal settlement over the weekend.
“People have the right to protest, but we urge them to assist us with correct information as some of them know the criminals in the area.
“But when they have to testify, they never want to talk.
“In other cases, you find that they don’t want to come forward and speak out, so we can’t arrest people on hearsay,” he says.
He adds that they have been meeting with community leaders to try and address the concerns of the community, but that they also need the residents to play their part.
“The arrested people have been charged with public violence and malicious damage to public property and will appear in the Springs Magistrate’s Court soon,” he says.
Thabang Mphaho (19) from new Payneville tells a different story to that of the EMPD.
He sustained three bullet wounds to his left leg, and was identified as a protester during the altercation with law enforcement officers.
He says he was walking with his friends when he was shot at by the EMPD.
“We were coming from the tuck shop when we saw the police vehicles passing by.
“After that, there were also EPMD officers coming our way, and they were just shooting.
“I got shot in my leg once, fell to the ground and they still carried on shooting, and I got hit twice again, however, one of my friends came back and dragged me to someone’s yard.
“These people did not even stop after the first shot, they just carried on, and I was not even part of the protest and don’t live in the area,” says Maphaho.
His friend Lindokuhle Shabangu says when he saw his friend fall to the ground the officers still carried on shooting.
He rushed to drag his friend to the nearest place of safety as he feared for his life.
At the time of going to print on Tuesday, the 12 accused had not yet appeared in court.
