- A security officer was injured in an attack at a landfill site in Vrygrond, Muizenberg in Cape Town.
- She took shelter under a vehicle and the attackers petrol bombed it.
- The City has called for tip-offs that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
The City of Cape Town has appealed for information on an attack at the City's Coastal Park Landfill site in Vrygrond in which a security officer was injured.
"On Sunday (18 April)… between 22:00 and 22:30, a group of people … attacked security officers at the Coastal Park Landfill site in Muizenberg," law enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said.
The group chased a female security officer who sought shelter under a vehicle.
"The suspects discharged a petrol bomb onto the front of the vehicle. [The woman] was then trapped under the back section of the vehicle while the front burned. A City law enforcement officer attached to the Rapid Response Unit arrived on [the] scene and, with assistance from his colleagues and other security officers, managed to free and rescue the female officer from under the vehicle after they lifted it," Dyason said.
The security officer sustained serious injuries to the lower parts of her body and was taken to hospital where she was stabilised.
No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.
The City has since alleged that the attackers retaliated against the City after it prevented the "further unlawful occupation of the proclaimed False Bay Nature Reserve" earlier that day.
"The violence perpetrated by the criminals in retaliation to the City acting to uphold the rule of law and to protect the False Bay Nature Reserve area behind the City's Coastal Park Landfill site in Vrygrond, should be condemned by all communities and influencers in our society," said Mayco Member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi.
Cape Town has experienced an "unprecedented increase" in unlawful land occupations over the last year, Booi said.
"Physical assessments of the settlements are under way, but preliminary information shows: By far the majority of the unlawful occupations were driven by criminal syndicates or so-called 'shack farmers'. These unlawful occupations resulted in approximately 54 newly established settlements of various sizes across the city, many of which are demanding immediate service provision, mostly on unsuitable land. Some R300 million is required just to service the newly unlawfully occupied areas across the metro, where it is possible to do so," Booi said.
Anyone who has information on the attack can contact the police or provide an anonymous tip-off to the City on 112 from a cellphone and 107 from a landline.
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