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UP IN SMOKE: The community of Tafelkop in Limpopo took to the streets on Friday in service delivery protests that turned violent. Protesters burned tyres and blocked roads.

POLICE in Limpopo say a search is on for a taxi driver who allegedly shot and killed a man during a service delivery protest in Tafelkop on Friday.

The community of Tafelkop was protesting against the lack of water in the area.

The protests had turned violent, with people barricading the roads with stones and burning tyres and looting shops belonging to Pakistani nationals.

The protesters also rounded up a taxi that was looking for space to pass them.

It is alleged the taxi driver was threatened and then drew a firearm and shot dead a man before fleeing.

Police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said yesterday they had arrested at least 25 community members and charged them with public violence and malicious damage to property.

Those arrested, he said, would appear in the Motetema Magistrate's Court today and a hunt had been launched for the taxi driver.

"We have launched a hunt for the taxi driver accused of shooting to death one of the protesters in Tafelkop on Friday, Mulaudzi said. We have opened a murder case against him. We advise him to turn himself in."

According to Sekhukhune district municipality spokesman Willy Mosoma executive mayor Mogobo Magabe had convened an urgent meeting to deal with the violence by community members.

"Magabe has acknowledged the concerns of residents and is committed to intensifying the supply of water to Tafelkop," Mosoma said.

He said so far all sections of Tafelkop were being supplied with water on a rotational basis due to technical challenges.

Mosoma further said the newly established rapid response team of the municipality would shorten its response time so as to "speedily deal with break-downs as they occur".

"We want to reiterate our commitment to a speedy resolution of this problem and want to send our sincere condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the person who was killed during the protests," he said.

Mosoma said water remained their top priority and further called on people demanding water to do so "within the frameworks of the law". - frankm@sowetan.co.za

Comments

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Sun May 26 10:19:58 SAST 2013 ::

Sep 3, 2012

Sinudeity_

Yeah... and two weeks ago, a mother was put in a coma because a protestor threw a rock through her car window, which hit her in the face.
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Sep 3, 2012

Eraser

and whn the police shot them Malema complains...violence first start frm the community...

Our society is out of order..
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Sep 3, 2012

ngutha

..only in LIMPOPO


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Sep 3, 2012

Kuvukiland

Can Malema go and campaign, also ask the courts to release those people arrested for hooliganism.
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Sep 3, 2012

MommaC

Ooops, picked on the wrong driver to throw rocks at.
Considering the violence that is associated with these 'protests', I can't really say that I blame the taxi driver. Chances are that he was on his way to an ICU or a morgue if he hadn't done something drastic
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Sep 3, 2012

MGEEZ

Why all this violence? Do we really need it?
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Sep 3, 2012

KasiKid

That will certain be a lesson to those who protest violently, who think they have a right to throw rocks at people's cars.

It serves them right.
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Sep 3, 2012

GODESS

Yoh! ne go le blind, ppl could not even go to work, well it worked in my favor, did not want to go to work on friday...somehow i was hoping they block the roads again....its a monday!
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Sep 3, 2012

thabiso992000

Sinudity or what ever, mommac and all this commentters who had being writing sh......, in ur lives ur apartheid government has provided u with everything, u have never in ur life had to line up with buckets to fill water, actually i have never, since i was born, seen white people lining up to fill water, or the electricity out, so shut
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Sep 3, 2012

cocolucho

What the hell? Could we please stop with this violent reaction to get everything we want in life. So sick and tired. Grow up everyone PLEASE!
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