The ruling party has dominated elections in KwaDukuza local municipality since 1994 but got only 49.56% of the vote in the November 2021 local elections
Sociopolitical conflict persists in the area because mining operations go hand in hand with filthy lucre that divides communities while devastating their natural environment.
A shortage of burial plots and viable land for new cemeteries has been worsened by the pandemic’s death toll, forcing people to buy rural land on which to bury their loved ones.
Some residents in areas affected by the July riots have lost their livelihoods, have to travel far to get to the jobs that remain and walk long distances to unaffected shopping centres
Global demand for timber and a huge increase in deaths means the soaring cost of a decent burial is beyond the reach of many impoverished South Africans
In Madlala, the police and army broke into homes in an operation to retrieve stolen goods. After they left, a woman lay dead in a pool of her blood behind a shack
Crematoriums, funeral parlours and cemeteries were forced to close, leaving the families of those who died during the unrest to live with their bodies.
Forced to sign lease agreements and pay rent for land they have been living on for years, residents have had enough and are taking the Ingonyama Trust to court