Ward councillor’s house ‘petrol-bombed’
LANGA ward councillor Samkelo John has been moved to a place of safety after an angry mob allegedly hurled a petrol bomb at his house at the weekend.
His house was gutted and he was forced to seek safety at his neighbour’s house. The group was allegedly unhappy with John’s performance.
Speaking to the Cape Times yesterday, John said the attack was politically motivated. “My house was petrol-bombed. I suspect two petrol bombs were used. It burnt everything, and I left my home wearing only my shirt and tracksuit pants,” John said.
He was able to get to safety after scaling his backyard wall to find shelter with a neighbour. “The mob was at the front of my house at the time, so I was not harmed when I was able to get to my neighbour. No plans have yet been made to rebuild my home, an assessment can only be done (Monday),” John said.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “Public order police, Langa police and other law enforcement agencies were monitoring the situation in the Siyahlala informal settlement at about 4am on Friday morning. They (protesters) were burning tyres on the railway line between Langa and Bonteheuwel.”
Van Wyk said residents also burnt tyres in zone 23, 24 and 25 and at the entrance of Blue Gum Road and Bunga Avenue, and also blocked the N2. “Members dispersed the crowd. Later, it was reported that a petrol bomb was thrown at a house in Winnie Mandela Drive.”
Cases of arson, attempted murder and public violence were registered, while no arrests have been made. “Police continue to monitor the situation, urging protesters to carry themselves in an orderly manner that does not infringe on the rights of others.”
ANC secretary in the Dullah Omar Region, Vuyiso Tyhalisisu, said: “The ANC is taking the accusation of poor performance against the councillor seriously and quickly responded to engage the aggrieved community members. We believe these are the actions of criminal thugs who seek to cause instability and create a state of chaos in the ward.”
Anyone with information about the incident can anonymously call Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
THE ANC condemns the criminal activity that led to the destruction of property and burning down of Cllr Samkelo John’s house in kwaLanga Ward 52.
The ANC Dullah Omar Region received a letter of complaint around the performance of the councillor from three Ward 52 community members
The ANC is taking the accusation of poor performance seriously and quickly responded to engage the aggrieved community members.
The ANC arranged a meeting between ANC leadership, the signatories of the letter, the Ward Councillor and some other community leaders in the area.
All the signatories of the complaint letter were invited and confirmed their attendance to the meeting on August 29 at the Constituency Office which services the kwaLanga community.
However, none of the complainants attended the meeting. Instead they sent some representatives to request that the meeting be held at a separate venue with the broader community.
It was noted during the meeting that none of the complainants had objected to the venue or format of the meeting beforehand. Also, that all the signatories of the complaint letter had confirmed their attendance and even confirmed a few hours before the meeting that they would be in attendance.
However, the meeting then resolved to close and to request the ANC Office to facilitate a community meeting in the newly requested venue with the community. All the representatives from different committees who were in the meeting were in agreement.
A few hours later in the early hours of Friday, August 30, the house of Cllr Samkelo John was torched by an angry mob.
As the ANC we believe these are the actions of criminal thugs who seek to cause instability and create a state of chaos in the ward. It seems a criminal element has taken advantage of the situation and carried out destruction of property.
We call on law enforcement in the area to arrest the criminals and bring them to book.
We commit to work with the community of kwaLanga to resolve their issues. VUYISO JJ TYHALISISU | ANC DOR Secretary