A violent community protest over a power outage in the Beruit township, Qwaqwa, on Sunday (26/06) led to tragedy when a teenage boy died.
He was confirmed as being the 15-year-old Mbuyiswa Buthelezi.
Mbuyiswa allegedly fell off the back of a moving bakkie loaded with old tyres, which angry protesters used to barricade roads. He landed under the moving vehicle and it ran over him.
He reportedly died at the scene.
Capt. Phumelelo Dhlamini, spokesperson, said the police arrested a male 42-year-old foreign national, who had been driving the vehicle.
“The police arrested six people, including the driver of the vehicle. The suspects face charges of public violence. The death of the boy is being investigated,” said Dhlamini.
He said the suspects were expected to appear in the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (28/06).
Dhlamini said members of the Public Order Police was deployed to restore order and would remain in the area.
According to him the police were guarding businesses that include the Maluti Crescent Mall and the Setsing Complex.
“This is to prevent protesters from damaging buildings.”
Fed-up residents who claimed that they had been without electricity for more than three weeks went on the rampage to vent their frustration and seek answers from the coalition-run Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, which governs Harrismith, Phuthaditjhaba and Kestell.
Residents and businesses are lamenting the costs incurred due to food rotting in their fridges because of blackouts.
In an effort to minimise power outages, Eskom announced in May that it agreed to terms with the municipality to install protection equipment at selected substations. Outages affecting the greater Qwaqwa have increased since April.
According to Eskom, protection equipment estimated to cost R5,1 million would ensure uninterrupted power supply, help to isolate faults and enable repairs without affecting infrastructure.
