Residents 'starving' as protests rock Hermanus

A meeting between protesting residents‚ the Overstrand Municipality and the police was held on Monday evening to try address the volatile situation in Hermanus following an abortive land grab at the weekend.

Protesters destroyed a number of buildings on Monday - including the satellite police station in Zwelihle‚ a library and municipal buildings - as running battles between police and protesters escalated.

This follows after the Red Ants were called in at the weekend to halt an attempted land grab by a group which had started marking out plots on vacant land. The group then marched to the municipal office demanding that they should have access to water and electricity on their plots.

The Hermanus community policing forum (CPF) said human rights commissioner Chris Nissen negotiated with some of the protest leaders to get them to meet Overstrand mayor Dudley Coetzee‚ police and some councillors to facilitate a process to bring stability and peace back to the town.

The meeting was held on Monday evening. The CPF meeting would pave way for a scheduled meeting with the Western Cape human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela.

About 600 people who have been displaced from Zwelihle as a result of the protests were staying at Sandbaai Hall in Hermanus.

Pieter van Aswegen‚ a concerned local resident‚ said that due to a situation where people had been intimidated‚ displaced and fleeing their homes in Zwelihle township‚ the community had come out in support of those staying in the hall.

“I went to [a local supermarket] to buy some supplies to donate and found that people were there buying food‚ nappies‚ soft drinks and baby food to assist the residents who were staying at Sandbaai.”

He said he also saw some people bringing gas bottles to assist in cooking for the displaced residents. Van Aswegen said others were bringing blankets.

Van Aswegen said the mayor and the municipal manager had a meeting with the protesters on Monday afternoon.

“After the meeting‚ the protesters went ahead and looted.”

Van Aswegen said there was rumour that this protest was driven by people who were not local residents.

“Our people will not go and destroy clinics and would not break down a recycling centre‚ which brings a source of income to the community‚” he said.

Police spokesman Brigadier Donovan Heilbron said on Monday evening that the protesters had dispersed after the evening meeting. He said 26 people were arrested for public violence and that there had been no deaths as a result of the protests.