DURBAN - THREE youth leaders, including a ward councillor, from Nongoma are recovering after being shot at, allegedly by looters, while trying to defend their town.
Councillor Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, community policing forum (CPF) members Boy Buthelezi and Sikhumbuzo Buthelezi, and resident Lungelo Gazu sustained multiple injuries after being shot, allegedly by looters.
Gazu was recovering at Benedictine Hospital, but said the bullet had not yet been removed from his foot. The three others have been discharged.
Ndabandaba, a ward 1 councillor, has a broken arm, knee and middle finger injuries, after being shot and stoned by looters. “They would come in a wave and push. When they realised that we were fighting very hard, they would back off a little and then come back again,” Ndabandaba said.
He added that the looters disappeared for a few hours and came back with live ammunition, and opened fire. “Police ran away when the looters shot at us with live ammunition. And that gave looters an advantage. We were injured and could no longer fight,” said Ndabandaba.
CPF member Boy Buthelezi was shot in the hip and had to be operated on at Nongoma's Benedictine Hospital.
Buthelezi described the incident as a “disgrace”.
Nongoma mayor Albert Mncwango was shocked and disappointed with the police’s “reluctance” to deal with the looters. Had the police done their work, the city would not have been left in ashes, he said.
“The police stood there and watched. I confronted them as to why they were not helping us disperse the looters, and they cited lack of crowd control resources,” said Buthelezi.
Mncwango added that, when they sought police interventions, only one shop had been ransacked.
He said 113 businesses had been destroyed. “We are left with almost 10 businesses, which include one grocery shop,” said Mncwango.
The mayor said people in vehicles with number plates from as far afield as Vryheid, Mkuze and Ulundi came to loot Nongoma.
“The police really let us down. You could see that some of these looters were professional criminals. They came with heavy equipment to cut safes.”
He said they looked on helplessly as the looted goods were loaded in vans. He was informed that the police were understaffed and did not have rubber bullets, tear gas, stun grenades, shields and other necessary equipment.
“I asked myself, since when did the police not have all these things? Since when are they not able to control the crowds? Did they not want to work?” asked Mncwango.
He said they were now cleaning up the city, with an intention to resuscitate what was left and rebuild what was destroyed.
The Zulu royal household is in Nongoma.
The police had not responded to questions by the time of publication.
Daily News