Cape Town - Anti-election protesters from the
Siqala informal settlement shut a large section of Vanguard Drive on
Monday morning.
Protesters burned tyres, toyi-toyied and removed party election posters from lamp posts.
On the backs of these, slogans were painted – “no vote, no houses, no toilets, no electricity”.
They also dumped faeces from portaloos on the road.
Siqala resident Roy Nobatana, 37, has lived in a shack there for the past seven years.
He said the ANC and the DA had both failed to bring meaningful improvements to his life since the advent of democracy.
“I will not vote again, and we forbid other people from voting.”
He added that residents had attacked and petrol-bombed a voting registration station in Siqala on Sunday.
As
Nobatana was speaking to the Cape Argus, fellow protesters set fire to a
stack of tyres. Police responded by throwing two stun grenades and
chasing after the protesters on foot.
By mid-morning police Nyalas and armoured vehicles with water hoses had arrived too.
Businesses in Vanguard Drive complained about a morning of lost trading.
Pacific
Ocean wholesalers, a seafood and dried fruit outlet, has its busiest
trading period of the week on Monday mornings, said director Achmat
Carr.
“This is when hawkers come to us to
get their stock for the week. There is no other access, so our business
is effectively closed,” he said.
Sidney
Marais, who’s lived in the area for 25 years, came to warn Carr that
protesters had threatened to loot the wholesaler if it opened.
“This
has been going on since 6pm on Sunday and they have not stopped since,”
Marais said, adding that he was pelted with stones when he walked to
Vanguard Drive to check the commotion early Monday morning.
The
Siqala protest follows similar, yet isolated protests elsewhere in the
province. In Kayamandi informal settlement near Stellenbosch, residents
closed a voting station this weekend and issued death threats to people
attempting to register as voters.
At the time of publication, Vanguard Drive was closed to traffic.
Police spokesman Andre Traut said the protest was being monitored by police. No arrests had been made.
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