Mahikeng on tenterhooks as anti-Supra protests turn violent

Vehicles were torched and shops were looted in Montshiwa, Mahikeng. Picture: Poloko Tau.

Tension was thick in the town of Mahikeng this morning, as protesters picked up where they left off yesterday and continued to call for the removal of Supra Mahumapelo as premier of the North West.

The total shutdown, which started on Wednesday, continued into Thursday and a cloud of black smoke moved gradually across the skyline.

The protest became violent last night as cars were stoned, shops were looted and roads were barricaded with burning tyres, rocks and debris in areas including Unit 14, where Mahumapelo owns a house.

This morning started quietly. There wasn’t much movement in the streets because of the absence of public transport, while the few motorists on the road drove around in circles trying to find accessible roads.

Protesters, mainly from Lonely Park Village, have now moved towards Nelson Mandela road which cuts through the town of Mahikeng towards Unit 3, Unit 6, Ramatlabama villages and the Botswana border. The road has now been rendered inaccessible by protesters and burning tyres.

Police were battling to keep protesters away – from both the main road and the Crossing Shopping Centre next to which there is a McDonald’s outlet known to be owned by Mahumapelo’s family.

Rubber bullets and teargas were used in running battles between police and protesters. Journalists have been threatened, chased away and stopped from taking pictures and interviewing people. Protesters were chanting “Mahumapelo must go” as they used petrol to set alight tyres.

Mahikeng has seen widespread violence, which started in Montshiwa township where a bus was torched and businesses looted on Wednesday morning. The burning of tyres and barricading of roads spread to the Mahikeng central business district, forcing businesses to close their doors, before spreading to the villages surrounding Mahikeng.

Shops were looted last night and cars were stoned when motorists tried to force their way through barricades, especially along the road leading to the airport, south-west of Mahikeng.

Residents cited poor service delivery and allegations of corruption and tender irregularities in Mahumapelo’s office as they took to the streets to demand his resignation.

Mahumapelo was also blamed for other tender irregularities and alleged corruption within the province, like the awarding of a R180-million tender to a Gupta-linked company, Mediosa.

Residents also blamed Mahumapelo for the woes at the health department where public servants have been on strike for more than a month leaving the services near collapse.

Lehurutshe Hospital outside Zeerust had reportedly urged patients’ families to come fetch their loved ones.

There were similar unconfirmed reports at Bophelong Hospital in Mahikeng, where military health services were apparently being readied to take over but found themselves stuck on the other side of town behind barricades on Nelson Mandela road.

Speaking on SABC’s Morning Live earlier, Mahumapelo said they were working on ending the protests and “dispatching local leaders to ensure we talk to communities”.

He blamed the current situation on some of his own comrades he accused of working with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

“What’s surprising is that [this protest] has got very little to do with service delivery ... the matter is political because there are people within the ANC working with EFF to ensure that Mahikeng is ungovernable,” he told the SABC.

“Our informers have told us there were meetings called to make sure that they render the capital city ungovernable ... this is a political issue which comes from people who think that after Nasrec some of us should not be deployed by the ANC.”

Mahumapelo said his detractors were also to blame. “People go to the media to tarnish the image of Mahumapelo so people can lose faith in him ... so he can become unpopular within the ANC. If there are investigations why can’t they wait for them to be concluded,” he asked, speaking in the third person.

He disowned the problems in other departments, laying the blame at those people heading those units.

“Yes, there are problems in health. Why are they talking about the premier because the premier doesn’t run the department,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mahumapelo said his removal was never discussed by the national working committee of the ANC, members of which met with the provincial party leaders and its caucus in the legislature on Wednesday.

“We discussed organisational renewal and how we must speed up service delivery. The committee was never here to look into whether the premier must resign,” he said.

	Poloko Tau Journalist City Press p: +27 11 713 9001 w: www.citypress.co.za  e: poloko.tau@citypress.co.za