Resident killed in Soweto protest

KFC at Chris Hani road was torched during service delivery protest at Motswaledi informal settlement in Soweto where major roads were barricated with rocks and traffic lights were vendalised.550 Picture: Matthews Baloyi 4/21/2013

KFC at Chris Hani road was torched during service delivery protest at Motswaledi informal settlement in Soweto where major roads were barricated with rocks and traffic lights were vendalised.550 Picture: Matthews Baloyi 4/21/2013

Published Apr 23, 2013

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Johannesburg - As the sun rose over the Elias Motsoaledi informal settlement on Monday, one resident lay dead, and a KFC outlet lay in ruins.

The settlement in Soweto has seen violence and vandalism for the past week as community members protest against the lack of service delivery.

The demonstrations began last week when the KFC was stoned and traffic lights smashed. Since then, there has been nightly vandalism, and protesters have burnt several minibuses, blockaded roads with litter, and dug holes around Motsoaledi to prevent police vehicles from entering.

On Sunday night, protesters set the KFC outlet alight, sending staff scurrying for safety.

Elsewhere, a man was stabbed to death. His identity is unknown and it was not clear whether his death was related to the protest.

No arrests had been made regarding the murder in Extension 9 of the settlement, but police arrested 19 people for incidents related to the protest.

Community leaders admitted that burning down the KFC was illegal, but requested the release of all residents arrested during the course of the protests.

Pakistani residents in Motsoaledi claimed that 13 of their shops were looted and had been destroyed in the past week. They were now living outside the settlement, fearing for their lives.

After the council cancelled a Sunday meeting to address residents’ concerns, City of Joburg member of the mayoral committee for housing Dan Bovu addressed residents and talked about a timeline for tackling their worries.

By August, engineers would have appraised the area, and people would start moving into new homes. This comes as part of a housing development project meant to add 4 463 homes to the area. Residents demanded temporary electricity by the end of the week, but Bovu said it was impossible at such short notice.

He said the council would meet on Friday and come back to the community on May 5 with a full report. Until then, community leaders have agreed to an uneasy peace, assuming their basic demands were met.

“If we can promise people that they’re going to install temporary electricity, we will cease fire,” said community leader Lucky Ngobeni.

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The Star

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