Soweto councillor's houses torched

The ANC has called on crime intelligence to gather information to protect its elected members following the torching of two houses belonging to two of its councillors in Soweto.

Rampant Tshiawelo community members set alight two houses belonging to ANC councillors during a protest against Eskom's electricity charges, which the community claimed were too high.

The ruling party last night called on its branches to help the crime intelligence unit to gather information to prevent such attacks from taking place in future.

Dumisa Ntuli, the ANC's spokesman in Gauteng, said the burning of the houses belonging to councillors Mirriam Ramafola and Joe Nemaungane was "motivated by criminal inclination and hatred of the ANC".

He said the two councillors and their families were still traumatised by the attacks, and that with their houses having been burnt down, they had been moved to places of safety.

"There is no justification to burn the houses of councillors because Eskom is responsible for electricity connections.

"ANC councillors had nothing to hide and had called many meetings to explain to communities about the dangers of illegal electricity connections.

"Now that an electricity transformer failed because of the overload, the mob blames the councillors," Ntuli said.

According to The Times photographer Halden Krog, who was at the scene, residents blockaded the main Old Potchefstroom Road yesterday morning. Around lunch time, they moved from the main road and marched towards a house in Tshiawelo Extension 2 belonging to Nemaungane.

He said the residents, who said they were angry that they had to pay for lights after the rollout of prepaid electricity meters in the area, while others were not receiving bills, later moved to Ramafola's house, and set her Toyota RunX alight, which was parked in her garage, and then burnt her entire house.

As the house continued to burn, some residents tried to put the fire out by using buckets, and got help later when police responded to the attacks.

He said two children and a woman were later removed from the councillor's flat in her backyard by police.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Mpho Kgasoane said they were able to save the woman and two children because Ramafola's house was partially burnt.

"The part of the house that got burnt was the side of the parking garage. The children were in one of the rooms on the other side of the house," she said last night.

Ntuli, meanwhile, said Ramafola was not at home at the time of the attack because she received a call and was told her house would also be attacked when residents were busy burning Nemaungane's house.