Community members torch workshop
ANGRY community members went on the rampage yesterday morning and attacked an industrial workshop in Springfield Park, Durban, accusing its owners of keeping dangerous dogs that they claimed had killed a man at the weekend.
A man was found dead near the workshop and the community from the nearby Siyathuthuka and Jamaica informal settlements suspected that the dogs guarding the workshop had been responsible for his death.
Attempts to reach the owner of the business were unsuccessful yesterday. His employees and a business associate said that he (the owner) had been shocked by what he had seen and had left to seek medical attention.
A car workshop located inside the premises bore the brunt of most of the community’s anger.
Some of its members torched two bakkies and a truck, and another was partially damaged. At least four vehicles were also set alight. Several cars parked inside the workshop were damaged, windows were broken and radios stolen. One car was allegedly stolen during the rampage and driven off the premises, but it was recovered a few metres outside the workshop.
Police spokesperson Thembeka Mbele said about 200 people had gone to the factory and protested, complaining about the dogs that attacked them.
She said the protest turned violent, and seven people had been arrested for public violence and would appear in court shortly. She was unable to confirm whether a man had been killed by the dogs.
A witness, who declined to be named, said, “They (community) torched the truck. We put the fire out, but they returned and set it alight again. They went inside and set two bakkies and a Hyster (forklift) on fire.”
A businessman who managed the the car workshop said he had suffered millions of rand in damage.
“One of the cars here was an import and the damage is around R500 000. Some of the cars that were set alight were here for repairs. I have called the owners and I have to replace those vehicles.
“The community was not here about the dead man. They were here to loot and steal, as evidenced by them stealing one of the cars that we recovered outside the premises,” he said.
A community member, who also declined to be named, said it was not the first time the dogs had attacked someone.
“Another man was attacked by the same dogs and was on crutches for a long time,” he said.