Residents of Khayelitsha’s TR section who have been involved in service delivery protests vandalized a pre-school on Sunday because the owner refused to let them have a community meeting there. As a result, 51 pre-school children have nowhere to go.Owner of the Bongani educare centre, Theodora Gila, said on the previous Sunday (7 November), she refused to let the community hold a meeting about the planned protests that have since resulted in cars and buses being stoned and set alight.
She said she refused because their toyi-toying inside the building was destroying the wooden floor.
As a result, she said, some of the residents threatened to burn her pre-school down. She then went to the Lingelethu police station to get a protection order, but that just seemed to anger the residents further.
This Sunday, the angered residents broke into the pre-school and ripped up the floorboards and broke the windows.
Gila was speaking to West Cape News as she was packing her bags to flee the area. She said she is scared the angered residents will burn her house down after she pressed charges of malicious damage to property, resulting in the arrest of three women and a man on Sunday night.
“I know they’re having a meeting to burn my house as we speak, that is why I’m running. By the time they finish on that meeting I will be out of this place,” said Gila.
But she said she’d be back.
“I know who’s behind this and they’re doing this because of jealousy.”
Residents’ committee member Khaya July said Gila never told the committee that people threatened to burn down her pre-school.
July said the land the pre-school was situated on belonged to the community.
“This is not her house and we are the reason she owns it.”
He said for years the community held meetings in the pre-school.
“When something is broken, she used to tell us and the community always fixed it,” said July.
He said they invited her to a community meeting on Monday, 15 November, to hear her complaints, but she never attended, he said.
Residents’ committee chairperson Luvuyo Hebe said he was not in the area when the pre-school was vandalized.
“I came home around eight o’clock at night and the police were arresting three women and one man, accusing them of damaging Gila’s property. This is not her property, the land belongs to the community.”
Lingelethu police spokesperson Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed that four people had been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the pre-school.
She said they would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Monday 22 November.
– West Cape News
She said she refused because their toyi-toying inside the building was destroying the wooden floor.
As a result, she said, some of the residents threatened to burn her pre-school down. She then went to the Lingelethu police station to get a protection order, but that just seemed to anger the residents further.
This Sunday, the angered residents broke into the pre-school and ripped up the floorboards and broke the windows.
Gila was speaking to West Cape News as she was packing her bags to flee the area. She said she is scared the angered residents will burn her house down after she pressed charges of malicious damage to property, resulting in the arrest of three women and a man on Sunday night.
“I know they’re having a meeting to burn my house as we speak, that is why I’m running. By the time they finish on that meeting I will be out of this place,” said Gila.
But she said she’d be back.
“I know who’s behind this and they’re doing this because of jealousy.”
Residents’ committee member Khaya July said Gila never told the committee that people threatened to burn down her pre-school.
July said the land the pre-school was situated on belonged to the community.
“This is not her house and we are the reason she owns it.”
He said for years the community held meetings in the pre-school.
“When something is broken, she used to tell us and the community always fixed it,” said July.
He said they invited her to a community meeting on Monday, 15 November, to hear her complaints, but she never attended, he said.
Residents’ committee chairperson Luvuyo Hebe said he was not in the area when the pre-school was vandalized.
“I came home around eight o’clock at night and the police were arresting three women and one man, accusing them of damaging Gila’s property. This is not her property, the land belongs to the community.”
Lingelethu police spokesperson Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed that four people had been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the pre-school.
She said they would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Monday 22 November.
– West Cape News
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