Protests as farmer bulldozes cemetery

BURNING: ROAD BLOCKED BY ANGRY COMMUNITY

Angered by the desecration and clearing of a cemetery, protesting farm dwellers and community members yesterday blocked off the R74 between Kranskop and Greytown with logs, tyres and broken bottles and set alight some farmlands.

The area has been tense since the weekend.

Protesters accuse a local farmer of disrespect after he allegedly cleared a cemetery on his farm that was being used by the community.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the protests started at 3am yesterday.

“About 300 protesters have blocked the road, complaining about a farmer who has graded the cemetery at the Aussicht Farm,” said Mbele.

Public order policing, the road traffic inspectorate and Greytown police were at the scene monitoring the situation and clearing the road.

No injuries or damages had been reported, she said.

Roelf Koningkramer, chairperson of the Kranskop Farmers’ Association, said farmers had also been clearing the road.

Protesters were still in the area and the police were “negotiating” with them, he said.

Stones, logs, burning tyres and “a lot of broken glass” were used to block the road.

“I farm about 10km away from where the protests are taking place and I am not sure about what started this,” said Koningkramer.

Koningkramer said he had heard “via the grapevine” that the protests concerned the bulldozing of a cemetery.

“There were some fires last night on the farms surrounding the area where the protests started and we assisted with dousing them,” he said.

Koningkramer said there had been damage to property but was not yet sure of the extent of the damage.

“I was directing traffic from the Kranskop direction [about 2km from the scene] to make sure no one entered a dangerous situation and to hopefully deter vehicle damage,” he said. – ANA