Yet another Free State township erupted in protest on Thursday, with residents trying to block the N1 to Bloemfontein to highlight unhappiness with service delivery.
Mmamahabane, near Ventersburg, was the second township in two days to be engulfed in unrest in the beleaguered province.
On Wednesday, ANC provincial leaders had to be escorted out of Phomolong near Henneman after residents threatened to attack them when they refused to fire an unpopular and allegedly corrupt councillor.
The residents marched and burned tyres on Tuesday, demanding that the ANC and the provincial government address their grievances over councillors. Both Mmamahabane and Phomolong fall under the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, whose mayor has come under attack from residents.
The protests are a continuation of those that started in other parts of the Free State last year, including Harrismith, Warden and Vrede. Residents complained of ineffective councils and councillors who did not consult them.
ANC Free State chairperson Ace Magashule said some of those responsible for the mushrooming of ”concerned residents groupings” were bitter former ANC members who had not made it as councillors or branch leaders.
Magashule said such people were trying to cause chaos, so that they could take control of local government. However, he conceded that in some instances residents had genuine grievances.