There is a heavy police presence in Mashishing, Lydenburg, on Tuesday morning. This follows a violent Monday afternoon where residents clashed with riot police over a lack of service delivery.
Mashishing community cries foul over poor service delivery
According to the latest updates from reputable sources on the ground, a number of roads near Skhila and Boomplaas have been closed off to traffic due to increased violent activity in the area.
09/03/2021 @ 08H15#RIOTS
— RIOT & ATTACK info South Africa (@RiotAndAttackSA) March 9, 2021
LYDENBURG/MASHISHING MPUMALANGA
UPDATE:
R37 From Lydenburg to Burgersfort CLOSED just before Lydenburg town at SKILA. The BOOMPLAAS/FRISCHGEWAAGD road is also CLOSED have to turn around when on R37 AVOID
All motorists and TRUCKS to AVOID this road.
Much of the unrest has been ongoing for a while. On Monday, things turned violent when Mashishing residents took to the streets in large groups, blocking roads with steel barrels and rocks.
Mashishing (Lydenburg), Mpumalanga – March 2021, 27 years after the end of apartheid.
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) March 8, 2021
The ANC government's corruption and total abuse of power has led this community to the edge.
Are you proud @DDMabuza @CyrilRamaphosa? pic.twitter.com/KBuwTpIeH3
In a fiery statement released by Action South Africa (ActionSA) leader Herman Mashaba warned of a crisis brewing in Mashishing “that needs urgent attention.”
“People have had enough of corruption and brutality perpetrated by the local ANC government and SAPS,” he warned.
From what we understand, residents of the Lydeburg community are disgruntled with the lack of service delivery in the area. The protests are led by Pompie Letwaba, chairperson of the Mashishing Civic Organisation and on Monday, a memorandum of demands was submitted to the council offices.
This, however, did not douse the flames that were already flairing between locals and the police.
I have juts received a call from Mr Pompie Letwaba, Chairperson of Mashishing Civic Organization that police are shooting people unprovoked, after handing a Memo at the Council offices. @Action4SA @SABCNews @POWER987News @ewnupdates @SAPoliceService @dailysunsa @SowetanLIVE
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) March 8, 2021
We attempted to contact the Mashishing council offices but, after numerous tries, failed to get through to an official.
At the time this article was published, there was still a heavy police presence in the region and the threat of another day of violence was high.