Detectives deployed to village where murder, arson attacks force residents to sleep in the bush

An inter-village feud so violent that some residents have begun sleeping in the bush, only returning to their homesteads in the daytime, has prompted the intervention of national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola and police minister Bheki Cele.

Twenty-two people have been killed in the past three years in the Majola area of rural Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, with more than 140 homes burnt down.

The conflict has displaced scores of families, leaving women and children destitute, Cele's office said, after a visit to the area over the weekend.

The feuding is said to date back six decades. Community leaders cite rampant stock theft and revenge attacks for the ongoing violence, according to previous reporting by the Daily Dispatch. A tussle for jobs on a government project to build a dam nearby was also touted as a factor. The newspaper reported that some residents were decamping to the bush at night in fear of attacks.

Cele's office said members of the tactical response team (TRT) and national intervention unit (NIU) will be deployed within the week to affected areas of the Majola villages.

This intervention will be accompanied by the deployment of a team of additional detectives, to assist with police investigations and bring those responsible for the reign of terror on the people of Majola to book.

A request to President Cyril Ramaphosa to deploy the defence force to support police has also been made.

“Majola village cannot be a ‘ghost town’ where villagers are terrorised by thugs and fear for their lives to such an extent that they opt to live in bushes than in their own homes. We will put an end to this,” Cele said.

“We are bringing some of our best men and women to bring stability and peace to this village, as we wait to hear if the army will be deployed or not. With more boots on the ground, we will go toe-to-toe with these criminals.”

TimesLIVE