/ 5 September 2011

Thembelihle residents to meet officials after riotous protest

Thembelihle Residents To Meet Officials After Riotous Protest

Residents of Thembelihle, south of Johannesburg, are to meet officials over their housing and water grievances after a protest in the morning, Gauteng police said on Monday.

“The situation is calm at this stage and they are waiting to be addressed by Gauteng housing officials at a nearby taxi rank at 5pm,” Captain Hector Netshivhodza said.

About 500 people blocked Klipspruit Valley Road with burning tyres from 3am in a protest over poor service delivery.

Police fired rubber bullets at residents who threw stones at them and property, damaging three cars and a traffic light.

Police were investigating reports of an 11-year-old boy being hit in the face by a rubber bullet.

Eyewitness News posted a photo of the boy on a twitter feed, with a bloody wound on his right cheek.

Netshivhodza said the boy’s mother told police he had been playing in the yard when he was hit by a bullet. He was sent to Lenmed Clinic along with a police officer.

Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale said the officer was hit on the leg by a rock and suffered a sprain. Twenty people were arrested for public violence and malicious damage to property. — Sapa