Chaos as ANC meeting turns violent
A man was injured after chaos erupted at an ANC branch meeting, just before nominations closed for ward councillor candidates.
|||Durban - A man was seriously injured after chaos broke out at an ANC branch meeting in uMlazi, just hours before nominations closed for the party’s Ward 79 candidate.
Shots were fired by a man who was apparently with a group that had been encouraging him - it was claimed - to shoot controversial ward councillor, Sthenjwa Nyawose.
According to sources, the alleged shooter was then assaulted by angry ANC members and he had to be taken to Prince Mshiyeni Hospital.
The incident took place before a planned meeting to elect a branch executive and nominate a ward councillor, at Nselele Primary School, in the south Durban township’s H-Section, after 7pm on Sunday.
The Durban police media centre said it could not find records of the incident, but the ANC in eThekwini region has confirmed it.
However, the information provided by the regional secretary, Bheki Ntuli, differs from that pieced together from branch sources.
Ntuli said that a number of people had forced their way into the meeting, causing disruptions.
“They got into the meeting and assaulted those inside. There was also shooting that took place outside the hall,” he said.
Ntuli said during the drama, a man was injured and had to be taken to hospital.
But a member of the interim branch executive committee said the meeting did not take place because the names of some members in good standing had not appeared on the voters roll.
“There was a view that the meeting should not continue so as to allow those not on the voters roll to be included.
“Everyone was then called to announce the reason the meeting could not take place was because we wanted everyone to participate in ANC processes,” the interim branch executive member said.
He said there was a commotion outside as people were leaving the school hall.
“When I went outside I found some people chasing Sthenjwa and they were in turn chased by other members,” said the executive member.
The executive member claimed that during the drama, someone, amid a group of people, had been shooting into the air.
“He was instructed by the others to shoot Sthenjwa, but was grabbed and taken to the ground and beaten up,” he said, adding that the man later claimed to have been sent to shoot Nyawose.
He said police arrived and took the seriously injured man to hospital.
Nyawose said he was concerned that the man had claimed he had been sent to shoot him.
“I feel threatened and the police will have to investigate the matter.”
Ntuli said a detailed report on the incident was still awaited, and a date for another meeting would be decided soon.
Daily News