Mitchells Plain tense after violence
THE AREA between Highlands Road and Jakes Gerwel Drive in Mitchells Plain remained tense as rumours circulated of threats of further violence between residents of the Siqalo informal settlement and Colorado Park in Mitchells Plain.
Roads were opened mid-afternoon and a tense calm returned.
According to City officials, the Mitchells Plain community activists rejected a social media message that warned of a march yesterday evening. “A broadcast message has been doing the rounds this morning, warning of another protest and creating panic for Mitchells Plain residents, following last night’s violence.
“Traffic authorities say they have not approved any road closures,” said the head of the City’s safety and security directorate, Richard Bosman.
Mitchells Plain United Residents Association spokesperson Michael Jacobs said that at a meeting with Premier Helen Zille yesterday, community members had agreed not to hold any further protests.
“Both communities will refrain from any protests until the issues are finalised. They are planning to meet with the Siqalo committee and Mitchells Plain community members and create a joint steering committee, so that these are dealt with in a sustainable way and we prevent these problems in future,” said Jacobs.
Yesterday the meeting with Zille and her cabinet erupted in chaos after residents from Mitchells Plain and the Siqalo informal settlement said it provided no solution.
Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said: “We will be intervening to bring peace to the area. People have rights but we do not condone violence.”
Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy, said some Siqalo residents would be relocated to a site nearby. She said there were 2 000 informal structures in the area.
“Later the other residents will also need to be relocated as the area is not viable. The land has corroded due to illegal sand mining. And because it is on a flood line, we cannot install electricity there,” she said.
During another meeting, also in Mitchells Plain, Siqalo resident Monwabisi Futshane said: “We apologise for the violence which happened. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest. No violence was intended.”
Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom, whose constituency is Mitchells Plain and who also attended the meeting, called for peace in the area. “People who had the protest had legitimate grievances. There is a huge housing backlog in the Western Cape,” he said.
Xolani Sotashe, Cape Town ANC caucus leader, said he was glad the meeting had brought the two communities together.
“Siqalo and Mitchells Plain residents all have the same challenges. The City… needs to take responsibility for what happened in Siqalo. How can you not deliver services when you send a budget of R176 million back to the treasury?
THE man accused of shooting to death 21-year-old Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) student Zolile Khumalo grinned repeatedly as he stood in the dock of the Durban Regional Court.
Well-groomed and wearing a maroon hoodie and blue jeans, Thabani Mzolo, 23, entered the courtroom seemingly unaffected by the murder charge he was facing, and unaware of the 600 or so students who had gathered outside demanding justice.
This was the first appearance of Mzolo, who stands accused of shooting Khumalo – with whom he had been in a relationship – multiple times on Tuesday night at the off-campus residence at which she lived.
Mzolo, who had been a student at MUT last year but is said to have dropped out, allegedly gained access to the residence via another student before gunning down his ex.
This has brought safety at residences to the fore, with some students slamming the institution for a lax approach to their welfare.
Outside court, students had gathered after marching from the Killarney residence in the city. Some clad in EFF regalia and others in ANC colours, they consoled one another, others looking on curiously. Some young women were distraught.
Eager to enter the courthouse, the students grew restless as only a limited number were granted access. They eventually walked up to the large police contingent stationed outside the glass doors and tried to push their way in, but quickly retreated as officers armed with rubber bullets stepped forward.
Mzolo’s appearance was brief, with the State asking that he be remanded for seven days while bail investigations were undertaken. Magistrate Mohammed Motala agreed, telling Mzolo he would return again on May 10 “to see if you qualify for bail”.
The case is playing out at a time when South Africans are experiencing heightened awareness of women being killed by their intimate partners, with data indicating that one such murder occurs every eight hours.