eShowe violence ends as tensions are diffused
'To resort to violence and the destruction of property is not a solution' - MEC Zikalala
AMID simmering tensions, calm has returned to the eShowe region following the outbreak of violence and arson last week after the fatal shooting of a fisherman on Corby Hill farm.
Yesterday (Sunday), roads were open and no more incidents of arson were reported.
MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Sihle Zikalala, yesterday met with traditional leaders, farmers, councillors, the police and representatives of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce in eShowe to assess and diffuse the volatile situation.
All parties at the meeting agreed to allow the police to thoroughly investigate the incident.
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Zikalala called for calm, warning the community not to take the law into their own hands.
‘To resort to violence and the destruction of property is not a solution,’ he said.
PHOTO: Larry Bentley
Apart from inspecting the farms where arson occurred, he also visited the family of 22-year-old Gift Siphamandla Xulu who was shot by a security guard – an incident which sparked the violence.
Xulu and a friend were found fishing illegally at a private dam last Tuesday and were asked to leave the property by the farm ‘induna’.
They turned aggressive and the ‘induna’ called the farm’s security company to assist.
According to reports, Xulu attacked the security guards with a homemade weapon.
A shot was fired in self-defence by one of the the security guard, killing Xulu.
Police later arrested the guard and he was charged with murder.
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He was remanded in custody following a court appearance on Thursday and will appear in the eShowe Magistrate’s Court again this Thursday.
Rumours
It is believed that rumours that the guard had been released fuelled the already tense situation.
Farms were set alight and the R34 outside eShowe was blockaded with burning tyres and trees by disgruntled community members on Wednesday evening.
The protests continued on Thursday and the protesters moved to Corby Hill.
Sugarcane crops, plantations and six sheds and a tractor on the farm were set light, while other residential buildings were also destroyed.
‘Some unknown person also fired shots at police at the scene,’ said Commanding Officer of the Empangeni Public Order Policing Unit, Col At Slinger,
The community held a peaceful march to the offices of the security company and the eShowe Town Hall on Friday.
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