End of chaos at Vuwani?

What was supposed to be a quiet final voter registration weekend in Vuwani turned nasty when angry residents protesting against their inclusion into a new municipality that would include Malamulele went on the rampage.

All activities stopped in the Vuwani area on Thursday evening in preparation of a complete shutdown to prevent Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) staff from operating in the area. The shutdown was to end on Sunday, the last day of the voter registration weekend.

The angry residents who were against the presence of IEC staff in their area torched properties belonging to people they believed they were pro the Malamulele municipality. They also attacked passing motorists, damaging at least 13 vehicles in the process. Unlike in previous instances where roads were barricaded, this time around the area was calm and motorists were allowed to pass.

Even the IEC staff members managed to open most of the voting stations, but only a handful of people turned up to register. Positive turnouts were reported at Davhana and Kurhuleni.

At Masakona, angry residents blocked the main road to the village when five truckloads of building sand were offloaded on the tarred road leading to the village. An alternative road leading to the village was also blocked when a trench was dug across it. Incidents of violence were also reported at Tshimbupfe, where a number of people were arrested.

Police in the area have been accused of terrorising villagers and arresting them at their homes, including those who were not part of the strike. The town of Vuwani was quiet throughout the shutdown.

Surprisingly, villages around Hanesengani that used to give full solidarity to the affected villages have pulled out of the protests against the inclusion of parts of Vuwani into the new municipal entity that will include Malamulele. The rift has been interpreted by many as a weakening in the cause of residents who have vowed to fight to the end against their inclusion in the new municipality.

Others have prophesied the end of a turbulent era in the history of Vuwani, saying the strike had lost momentum, but some leaders have made it clear that it was not over until their battle had been won.

Pro-Makhado spokesperson Mr Muthathe said they achieved their objective of no registration in their villages as many heeded the call and did not register. “We are happy as a community that our people conducted themselves in a peaceful way to show their dissatisfaction with their being forced into a new municipality,” he said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Col Ronel Otto said they had a big police contingent placed at strategic points and that their presence ensured that there were road blocks in the area. "Together with the IEC, we managed to open almost all the registration stations in the area, and out of the 57 stations, only six were not operating. There were incidents of violence here and there at places like Masakona and Tshimbupfe."

According to Otto, the police have arrested eight people for public violence and no one has been arrested in connection with an arson case at Masakona.

Date:18 April 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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