50 in dock as cops quell Kokstad unrest

Fifty people have been arrested in connection with violent protests that erupted in Kokstad earlier this week.

Durban – The number of people arrested in connection with the violent protests that erupted in Kokstad on Monday and Tuesday has risen to 50.

Police spokeswoman Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala said all of them were expected to appear in the Kokstad Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Reports from the town on Wednesday indicated that all was quiet, but police had blocked off a number of roads in the central business district ahead of the first appearance in court.

According to Gwala the 50 face charges of public violence.

Shops and businesses in Kokstad closed on Monday and Tuesday after the protests erupted.

Poor service delivery and dissatisfaction with the nomination of some African National Congress councillors believed to be behind the protests. An earlier report said police were brought in from as far afield as Port Shepstone to restore order.

Greater Kokstad Municipality spokesman Sabelo Ncwane said on Tuesday that municipal employees had been sent home because of the protests.

It is understood that some residents started protesting on Monday and wanted to hand over a memorandum to the department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), but the department’s officials were “chased away”.

Cogta spokesman Lennox Mabaso confirmed the incident in a statement released late Tuesday.

“Yesterday Cogta deployed a team of senior officials to receive a memorandum, however, on arrival two Cogta officials were chased away as protesters allegedly demanded someone from the Presidency,” said Mabaso.

It is understood that a number of protesters were arrested on Monday and more on Tuesday. Those arrested on Tuesday got nabbed while demanding the release of their colleagues.

Members of the police’s Public Order Policing unit have been deployed to the town in a bid to contain the violence.

African News Agency