March turns violent

MARAPONG – Three protestors were arrested by the police following an unprotected march in Marapong on Wednesday morning. The marchers allegedly threatened and manipulated commuters during the protest and blocked several roads with large stones and pieces of iron.

Warrant officer Frans Mokoena, spokesperson for the Lephalale police, said that they received information that there would be a possible large-scale march to the municipality on Wednesday. “We attempted to meet with the parties involved on Tuesday, but were unable to secure a meeting. Early Wednesday morning there was a large crowd gathering at the Spar complex.”

“We again tried to negotiate a peaceful resolution with them but while we were talking to the leaders some of the other people started to run across the road and threaten commuters who wanted to make use of taxis.”

According to Mokoena, the situation became progressively more violent, forcing police to fire rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. “We deployed a large number of police in Marapong and will be monitoring the situation closely for any signs of further violence.”

The Marapong Unemployment Forum, whose members allegedly formed part of the march (according to a Twitter feed), could not be reached for an official statement regarding the exact reason for the planned march. However, community members who attended a meeting held by the forum, said they were dissatisfied with job allocations, the unemployment rate and the general living conditions of people in Marapong. “We keep hearing about Eskom and Medupi employing local people, but when I look at my neighbours, we are all suffering because of a lack of employment. As far as we can see, people from the villages are prioritized for certain positions in the large companies while people who live in Marapong are left to fend for themselves.”

Earlier this year a small group of members from the Marapong Unemployment Forum marched to the Lephalale municipality to hand over a memorandum to Lephalale Mayor, Jack Maeko, in which they demanded that he withdraw any involvement his office has with the allocation of jobs at the major developments in the Lephalale area, including Medupi Power Station.