KWAGGAFONTEIN - A police officer and an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor have been wounded during the on-going protest over service delivery in Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga.
Councillor Lebo Dlamini told the African News Agency (ANA) that she was shot four times with rubber bullets allegedly by a police officer on Tuesday night.
“I was driving home from Buhlebesizwe village when a group of about five police officers stopped me on the street,” Dlamini said.
“The officers said they wanted to see if there were any petrol bombs in the boot of my car. One of them told me to kneel on the ground and I did.
"The same officer kicked my phone which I was carrying in my hand, and it fell to the ground. I tried to grab my phone and he shot me twice in the arm, once in the breast and foot,” Dlamini said.
She managed to drive to the local clinic to seek treatment while bleeding profusely and enduring a lot of pain, but found the facility closed as a result of the protest, Dlamini said.
“I was not involved in the protest. I want justice. There is no way I could have driven my car to the scene of the protest,” Dlamini said.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said a case of attempted murder has been opened in connection with Dlamini’s incident. He said the case would be investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
Hlathi told ANA that an unnamed male police constable was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in another street on Tuesday night. He said the officer was removing rocks used by protesters to barricade the street when the vehicle hit him.
“He is in a stable condition at a hospital. Cases of reckless and negligent driving, as well as a failure to stop at the accident scene, have been opened for investigation,” Hlathi said.
The protest started in the early hours of Monday morning when hundreds of residents went on the rampage. They are demanding speedy delivery of various basic services, including water, from the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.
Thembisile Hani Local Municipality could not be reached for comment immediately.