“Protest, but do not vandalize” - King

Venda king Toni Mphephu Ramabulana said he would engage in discussions with role players such as President Jacob Zuma to find a solution for the Vuwani unrests. Mphephu expressed his support for people who protest when they are not satisfied, but he said they should not vandalize schools or other people’s property.

The Venda king held a media conference shortly after his meeting with the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, and several provincial MECs. Traditional leaders from the affected villages were also present at the meeting.

According to Mphephu, the reason for the protest is that people from Vuwani want to remain part of the Makhado Municipality. He said the protests were organised by community members and not traditional leaders. “People from Vuwani did not call for a new municipality, people from Malamulele did,” he said and expressed his support for people who feel they should not be forced into a new municipality. “I will engage the office of President Jacob Zuma to look into a solution as soon as possible,” he said. 

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga visited the damaged schools to gain first-hand experience of the destruction. She said that without any computerised back-up system, schools had not only lost buildings, but important records dating back many years. Motshekga said her department was yet to quantify the damage left after schools in the area were torched. She said she was not sure when schooling would resume in the area.  “We don’t know when things are going to settle down or what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Motshekga said.

Date:13 May 2016

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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