Another victory for the thugs

People in townships have many disadvantages compared with people in suburbs but the worst is lawlessness. In the suburbs the rule of the law prevails. In the townships it often doesn’t and instead the people are ruled by criminals and political thugs using intimidation.

I spent several days last week in one of my favourite places, Kleinmond, a small coastal town about 90 km east of Cape Town. Previously I had only known peace, safety and politeness there. This time there was evidence of violent riots a few days before my arrival. I saw broken windows and areas blackened by fire. People spoke to me of their fear and distress.

Kleinmond reflects the problems of South Africa. Its population is roughly a third each of white, black and coloured. The blacks live predominantly in Overhills on the West, the whites predominantly on the east, the coloureds predominantly at Proteadorp between.

The protests began with displeasure over a municipal cleaning tender not awarded to a local firm. Other grievances were added.

The protests escalated into rampaging mobs, burning tyres, roads blocked off, vehicles burnt, shops looted, cars stoned, windows smashed, the veld above Overhills set on fire, and many businesses closed down for days. The police were apparently too scared to arrest anyone. The hooliganism seems to have come mainly from the township.

A shopkeeper told me she shut down her shop for four days. Then she had to open it for re-stocking. A well-dressed black man marched into her shop and began looking around. She asked him what he was doing. He said he was just checking that her black workers were not working.

If he had found one that was, her house would have been burnt down. I heard of domestic workers too scared to go to work.

So Kleinmond follows the pattern we see all around the land. A small protest movement begins over a tender award (which I know nothing about) and some genuine grievances. Then the thugs move in. Apparently buses of violent agitators came in from outside Kleinmond. The gentle, law abiding people of Overhills, no doubt the vast majority, came under the heels of the mob leaders.

Kleinmond’s all-important tourism is likely to suffer. Business confidence will drop.

The thugs have won again.