Mob prevents Msimanga from visiting grieving families

THE deaths of five children on Saturday in Soshanguve Block X, after being hit by an unstable high-mast lighting ring, has been turned into a political fight.

ANC members yesterday disrupted Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga during his planned visit to the bereaved families. Chaotic scenes erupted when ANC supporters and community members threatened to prevent Msimanga from getting out of his official vehicle, parked outside the house where two of the children stayed.

Msimanga was scheduled to visit all the bereaved families around 10am.

Outside the house of sisters Dimakatso and Tsholofelo Bopape, the riotous group some in ANC T-shirts approached the vehicle with Msimanga inside. They were kept at bay by metro police officers, who fired rubber bullets. Amid the chaos, Msimanga was whisked away by his VIP drivers, as community members fled. The metro officers chased after the crowd, who took cover. One old man sustained injuries on the forehead and was rushed to a local clinic.

After Msimanga’s departure, ANC Tshwane members led by regional deputy chairperson Mapiti Matsena and other leaders in the council arrived at the house. Matsena denied that the move to disrupt Msimanga’s visit was orchestrated by the ANC.

“Members of the community are angry that this was purely a cable theft issue; it is not an issue of cable. This is an issue that was raised by our councillors that the high-mast lights are not serviced.

“Our ward councillor said she reported this many times and nothing was done.” Msimanga had said in the wake of the incident that the deaths were the result of theft of cables from the high-mast light. Acting mayoral spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said: “The mayor was accosted by the mob which was being used to push a political agenda when politics was the furthest thing from the mayor’s mind.”

See Leader, Page 8