The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) condemns the heinous and dastardly shooting of Mothutlung community members by SA Police Services (SAPS) during their recent protest to demand water because of erratic water supply since December 2013.
Two protesters lost their lives as a result of the excessive use of force or live ammunition by deployed SAPS members during the protest action. We wish the other two injured protesters a speedy recovery.
We are obviously incensed by the actions of the SAPS members who have taken a conscious decision to use brutal force or slaughtering through the barrel of the gun our people, whenever our people are taking up struggles that are geared towards improving their socio-economic or living conditions. The conduct of these policemen is reminiscent of the old apartheid-style policing order, where our people were wrongfully killed or murdered for fighting a just cause against the apartheid regime.
We call on the Minister of Police comrade Nathi Mthethwa and National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega to act swiftly by suspending the policemen responsible for this shameful and barbaric deed. The failure by Mthethwa and Phiyega to heed our call, it will reinforce our long- held suspension that police are being used or coerced to undermine genuine struggles of our people through the use of force.
Furthermore, we are concerned by the loud silence of POPCRU in condemning these continuous killings of the working class by their own members. We call on POPCRU as a revolutionary trade union that organises the police, to occupy its front-line role, and refuse to be bullied or used to undermine our people’s hard-fought right to protest.
Lastly, we call on the Ministry of Local Government to investigate the ‘perceived’ dirty relationship that might exist between Local tenderpreneurs and senior government officials in the supply of water in the area. We are suspicious that the service delivery protest might be a war over the tender to supply of water in the area.
Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Mobile(1): +2783 627 5197
(2):+2781 011 1137
Tel (dir): +2711 689 1702
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Website: www.numsa.org.za
Twitter: @castrongobes