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Cops fire rubber bullets at protesters from Limpopo’s ‘Nkandla’

protest dispersal equipments - Stock image
protest dispersal equipments - Stock image

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters near Disteneng informal settlement outside Polokwane in Limpopo on Wednesday.

Residents from various settlements‚ including Extension 78 and a squatter camp locals refer to as “Nkandla”‚ are apparently rioting over relocation issues.

 Provincial police spokesman Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said they received reports during the early hours of the morning that protesters had barricaded the Nelson Mandela Drive road between Polokwane and Seshego.

 Ngoepe said no arrests had been made‚ but police would remain in the area to monitor the situation until it calms down.

 Police had to clear off the main road while the entrance into the area remained blocked with burning tyres and large rocks.

 Residents claim that they were left stranded after the Polokwane municipality started the process of relocating people to permanent stands in 2013.

 One of the protesters‚ 40-year-old Thomas Mathy‚ said many people lost their properties and shacks during the removals.

Mathy said people were promised permanent stands‚ but many were left homeless without a place to go‚ resulting in them building shelters from whatever material they could find‚ including plastic and cardboards boxes.

 “We started a new squatter camp and named it Nkandla because our president has a nice place to live but we don’t have homes. We will not stop protesting until they give us stands‚” he said.

 

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