Protesters take mayor hostage

DA condemns the act, slams council

Mayor of Ditsobotla local municipality in North West was held hostage last night by protesters demanding service delivery.

Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone told Sowetan at about 10pm that he was not sure how long mayor Daniel Buthelezi was held hostage by the protesters at the municipal offices in Lichtenburg.

“Our negotiators are still negotiating for his release [last night]. I heard about the hostage on radio at about 6pm.

“At this stage, we are not aware of any other person being held hostage besides the mayor,” Mokgwabone said.

He said their priority was to ensure that Buthelezi was released unharmed. Parts of the municipal offices were also set alight by community members. Buthelezi was still held hostage at the time of going to print late last night.

DA’s Jacqueline Theologo‚ who was at the scene‚ said people from the nearby Phola community stormed the municipal offices yesterday afternoon and took the mayor hostage.

She said the community had “threatened to set themselves alight out of sheer desperation for their concerns to be heard”.

“Service delivery is in a terrible state in this area. It is really a hell of a situation.”

In a series of tweets, Theologo said: “They [community members] had a long list of grievances and complaints about poor service delivery in Ditsobotla. In a statement‚ the DA in the province said: “We condemn the taking of hostages to make a political point‚ in the strongest possible terms.”