Police stand firm as protests break out on KZN south coast

Police have deployed officers from the public order unit to monitor protest action on the KZN south coast‚ after the protests turned violent on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said that the protest action‚ in the Amagcino area in Amandawe‚ Scottburgh‚ had begun in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“Protestors blockaded the road and burnt tyres and later the road was cleared by police. A large group gathered singing and toyi-toying. Smaller pockets of people from KwaCele‚ Amahlongwa and neighbouring areas joined them‚ swelling the gathering to more than a thousand people‚” he said.

The community has protested for several days over a lack of access to housing and electricity.

“They were due to march from Amandawe to Scottburgh‚ where they planned to hand over a memorandum to the mayor of the Umdoni Municipality. Initially there were no incidents of violence or stoning and there was a very strong police presence throughout the day in the area‚” he added.

Zwane said that protestors‚ who were armed‚ then joined the march - with intelligence received that some of those in the crowd were carrying firearms.

“When the protestors refused to disarm themselves and became violent‚ police responded and brought them under control. Police refused to allow them to proceed further towards Scottburgh‚” he said.

“They were informed that as per their agreement‚ the authority to march was being revoked as they were burning tyres and carrying dangerous weapons and that the march was considered an illegal march from that point onwards.”

Zwane said that 14 women and 11 men were taken into custody but later released.

They were continuing to monitor the situation.