Residents of Wells Estate in Gqeberha launched a fiery (and smelly) protest that brought the area to a halt.
The unrest began on Monday night when protesters from Rabie Village, angry over long-overdue electricity meter boxes, dumped human waste outside the local clinic and the homes of ward committee members.
By Tuesday, roads were barricaded, a bus and a panel van had been torched, and tensions ran high.
Residents say they’ve been waiting since November last year for electricity connections that were promised to them by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
On top of chucking poo, protesters also hurled a petrol bomb at the local councillor’s office.
“Community members started burning tyres and rubbish in front of the multi-purpose hall,” police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg said in a statement.
“No one was injured. SAPS is currently monitoring the situation in Wells Estate.”
Not enough meter boxes
According to Chwayita Adoons, assistant to Gqeberha ward 60 councillor and Mayco member for Human Settlements Thembinkosi Mfana, around 4 000 meter boxes were delivered to the municipality, but very few reached Rabie Village.
Of the 985 households in the area, only 40 meters were brought in during a recent installation attempt.
“We wrote a letter to the residents, informing them that the boxes would be delayed,” Adoons told GroundUp.
“We did not have a specific date for delivery.”
When the contractor arrived with just 40 boxes people rejected them outright, said a community member who wished to remain anonymous.
“We are all angry, asking one another who was going to benefit from those 40 boxes.”
“People then decided that the boxes should go back, and the contractor should only return when they have boxes for every household.”
The poo protesters are also demanding the release of two women who were arrested for public violence during the demonstrations.
Are poo protests a uniquely South African thing?
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