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Riots in Standerton
Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00
Renewed protests erupted in Standerton's Sakhile township on
Tuesday night, with residents barricading all roads in the
township, Mpumalanga police said.
"The protesters have started from scratch... they have blockaded
the R23 road [highway between Johannesburg and Standerton] and 100
percent of all the roads in the township with burning tyres and
debris," said Captain Leonard Hlathi.
The partially burnt community centre housing the library and a
community hall was also set alight, along with a municipal
administration block.
The centre was first set alight on Monday, a day after a house
belonging to a municipal official was petrol bombed.
"Sakhile township is on fire... people's shacks have also been
burnt, for what reason I do not know," he said.
Protesters have also gone on a rampage at a construction site,
looting cement and smashing cement bags they could not carry, said
Hlathi.
The number of cement bags looted and destroyed was not
immediately known.
Hlathi said more police officers had been dispatched to the
township to help restore order.
"We are calling for calm. People should stop what they are doing
because they will face the full might of the law," he said.
Previously, some of the 65 people who were arrested following violent
protests in Sakhile township were released on R200 bail each in the
Standerton Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, Mpumalanga police said.
Those legally considered to be minors were released into the
custody of their parents during the court appearance that went on
until Tuesday evening, said Captain Leonard Hlathi.
"They were ordered to be back on October 22," he said.
The 65 people were arrested for public violence on Monday after
a community social centre housing a library and a community hall
were set alight.
The protests that started on Sunday were sparked by an
investigation that implicated several Lekwa municipal officials and
councillors in acts of fraud, maladministration and corruption.
Spokesman for the Mpumalanga cooperative governance department
Simphiwe Kunene said in a statement on Tuesday that another
investigation was underway following the "alleged" disappearance of
R30-million from municipal coffers.