Cape Town - Protesters burnt tyres and rubbish on Vanguard Drive, and police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas at the crowd and among shacks, on Tuesday morning.
The large crowd of protesters blocked off the Vanguard and Jakkalsvlei intersection, causing traffic on the N7 towards the N1 to slow from Dunoon on.
Hundreds of rattled motorists flooded side roads throughout the morning.
Residents from Kosovo informal settlement, in Langa, were protesting about poor sanitation, lack of housing and an “indifferent” ward councillor.
Police responded to the protest at about 4am.
They fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at the protesters. Some tear gas canisters were fired among shacks, as police pursued protesters fleeing to evade arrest.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said five people had been arrested for public violence.
Residents who spoke to the Cape Argus on Tuesday morning complained that police crackdowns on protests have become increasingly brutal in recent months.
“They just arrive and start shooting left, right and centre. These days, the cops feel nothing for shooting tear gas into shacks where they know that children are sleeping.
“They come into the settlement and kick down doors because they are looking for the protesters.
“Most of the time, however, they are targeting innocent people who were sleeping at the time,” complained Zikona Mbuku, a member of the Kosovo street committee.
Off Washington Road, near the scene of the protest, residents showed the Cape Argus yellow stains on the ground where a tear gas canister had gone off. The family in the shack next door said they were sleeping when it was fired.
“I woke up and my shack was filled with gas.
“I could not open my eyes properly and it was very difficult to breathe. My throat and my eyes were burning.
“I went to my child. She was short of breath and then she passed out,” said Nolufefe Mabanga, speaking about her eight-month-old daughter Inam.
Mabanga said she would like to lodge a complaint against the officers who fired the tear gas but she did not know how to go about this.
“I cannot complain to the police, because I do not trust that they will take this matter seriously,” she said.
Mbuku said at least five other children had been rushed to the Vanguard Day Hospital with respiratory problems on Tuesday morning.
The Cape Argus could not verify this at the time of publication.
“This is beginning to remind me of the state of emergency during the 1980s,” said school teacher Mzwanele Mavanda, who stumbled onto the scene of the protests this morning as he was walking to work.
“We struggled against apartheid, and I think that it is time for that struggle to resume. This time, it will be a struggle for human rights. Our constitution says that we have rights to security and decent living conditions.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said: “Accusations of any unprofessional behaviour or actions against innocent people are best addressed by an official complaint lodged in this regard.”
The protests and road closure had far-reaching effects on the city’s morning peak-hour traffic.
Traffic on the N7 towards the N1 began slowing down at Dunoon and motorists flooded a number of alternative routes.
“It can only be the road closure at Vanguard Drive that is causing it,” said Cape Town traffic spokesman Richard Coleman.
“That part of the road has been closed since 4.30am.”
Koeberg Road traffic, already under pressure from roadworks for the Bus Rapid Transit lanes, was jam packed and many motorists chose to use Otto du Plessis Drive, slowing traffic on that road.
Additional reporting by Henri du Plessis
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
No comments:
Post a Comment