Ward councillor nabbed for alleged involvement in EC protest

Published Apr 9, 2018

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PORT ELIZABETH - Two more suspects have been arrested for their alleged involvement in protest action at Thornhill over the Easter weekend, Eastern Cape police said on Monday. 

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Majola Nkohli, said the two men, one of whom is a ward councillor, were arrested on Sunday after police viewed video footage of the incident. 

The latest arrests follow a service delivery protest which took place over the Easter weekend. 

At the time, police detectives said they were looking for two other suspects after watching video footage taken on the day of the protest action. The latest arrests are the result of the ongoing investigation after a group of about 200 protesters ran amok and blocked the  N2 near Thornhill with burning tyres, cement blocks and tree branches on March 29.  

Nkohli said the men, aged 42 and 46, will appear in the Patensie Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of tampering with essential infrastructure. He said that more arrests were expected. 

The two suspects that were nabbed on the day of the protest action, Bongani David, 31, and Nkululeko Komna, 43, have already been released on R500 bail each. The pair is expected back in court later in May.  

Humansdorp Acting Cluster Commander, Colonel Simon Swarts warned residents to be responsible during protest actions.

“People need to be aware that the burning of tyres on public roads during protest actions constitutes contravention of Act No. 18 of 2015, and any person who is found guilty for the offence may be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of up to 30 years, or in the case of a company a fine not exceeding R100 million. The purpose of this Act is to ensure that it addresses high incidence of crimes affecting service delivery to the public, such as theft of cables, water meters, bridge railings, manhole covers and including damages to infrastructure such as public roads." 

African News Agency/ANA

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