A MAN was killed and eight people were injured during a protest in the Breede River Valley yesterday, Western Cape police said. Residents of the Stofland informal settlement, and surrounding townships near De Doorns, were protesting on the N1 at 10am when the man was killed.
Residents protesting over service delivery and lack of assistance after the recent flooding threw stones after the mayor, Clarence Johnson, addressed them, said Inspector Andre Greyling.
“Police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. At the moment we are not sure if the man died from the stones which were thrown by the residents or if he died from the rubber bullets, which were fired by the police,” said Greyling.
The injured were taken to the Worcester hospital with minor injuries. No one was arrested and police are investigating a case of public violence and murder.
About 4000 protesters from townships in the De Doorns area took part in yesterday’s protest, blocking a section of the N1.
Earlier yesterday, Anele Nyembe, one of the protest leaders, said they had wanted to “close the national road to get the government’s attention” and had started protesting at 5am.
“We had floods for three days. The municipality focused only on people living on the river banks. They were given food parcels. But we were also flooded. The government did not help us, ” she said.
Meanwhile, police are still searching for Daniella de Wee, 17, who was swept away by the De Doorns River on Wednesday. - SAPA
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