Flare-up as fed-up women protest lack of power
APHIWE MTHEMBU AND NOLUTHANDO DLAMINI
Durban — Residents of Thokoza Hostel in Durban said they took to the streets on Tuesday to protest over power outages that have continued for the past two weeks.
On Tuesday, residents of the women-only hostel said that their food was getting spoiled because there was no electricity. They said they were going hungry as they could not afford to replace the rotten items.
The protest escalated when they burnt tyres on the street and blockaded roads. A few residents were injured in the violence. Five protesters were arrested.
Lungi Nzama, 40, said: “We have had no electricity for two weeks and we are hungry. We have children and we have run out of food because our meat has gone off. We burnt the tyres on the streets collectively to make sure our grievances were heard.”
Another resident, Slindile Ngadi, said that while they were protesting a woman who was inside the residence was dragged out of the hostel and shot.
“After running away, why is it necessary for you (police) to chase me into my house and fetch me from my house and shoot me, is it because we are women and don’t have men?”
She said they were not fighting but were hungry.
“Why is there no electricity here at Thokoza yet there is electricity in other places? Why do they switch it off here? Is it because we are women and we can’t fight for ourselves? They must not mess with us,” Ngadi said.
She said that they had elderly women in the building who had to take medication for blood pressure and diabetes. They were having difficulty taking their medication without food.
She said that for the longest time, they have been cleaning the passages of their residence because of maggots from the uncollected bin bags during the municipal strike.
Ziningi Ngcobo, also a resident, said police directed a water cannon into her room while her 3-month-old baby was lying in bed.
“I was mopping the floor. It was full of water and my bed is wet. My baby was sleeping when a flood of water entered my room. Luckily, my child is not injured. However, everything is wet including clothes and my baby’s nappies. I don’t even know what my child will wear. I have to get the baby stuff dry and there is an electricity problem on top,” said Ngcobo.
On Wednesday (today), eThekwini Municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda will provide a detailed service delivery recovery plan for the protracted illegal strike action by municipal workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu).
The strike has resulted in most areas around the city being left without water and electricity supply.
KwaZulu-Natal Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Durban Central SAPS was investigating a case of public violence related to the hostel protest.
“It is alleged that a group of community members embarked on a protest action and blockaded Yusuf Dadoo and Gladys Manzi Street.
“The protesters were burning tyres and throwing objects at the police. A minimum use of force was used to disperse the crowd. Five suspects were arrested for public violence. They will appear in court soon,” said Netshiunda.
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