An example of the bucket toilet units which are the cause of the battle of poo in the Western Cape is shown here. – image – www.politicsweb.co.za
The battle of poo rages on in the Western Cape. On Monday, while the nine men accused of painting the Cape Town International Airport brown appeared in the Bellville Magistrates Court, four other men continued the smelly protest in the Cape Town CBD. The four men came to the Western Cape Legislature on Wale Street armed with their full, portable toilets which they unceremoniously emptied in front of the building.
Workers at the Western Cape Legislature don’t know what to expect at the door when they get to work these days. In recent weeks, two men threw human waste on the steps leading to the entrance.
Zak Mbhele, the spokesperson for DA leader Helen Zille, finds the protests unnecessary because the province has piloted the portable flush toilets which the DA believes are better the bucket system. According to the protesters, whether the toilets flush or not, as long as the toilets are portable; the sanitation problem in the Western Cape remains unsolved.
Most of the suspects in the poo-slinging incidents are members of the ANCYL. ANCYL convener Muhammad Khalid Sayed was interviewed on television about the poo battle. During the interview, he said that “the men who dumped buckets of faeces on the steps of the Western Cape legislature earlier today are members of the ANCYL”.
Later, when the DA’s Ivan Meyer pressed Sayed for the names of the suspects, Sayed denied knowing the identities of the men. Sayed said that he only recognized them as members of the community who use the “glorified bucket toilet system”. Sayed thinks unveiling the identities of the suspects should be left to the police who are responsible for handling investigations into criminal matters.
The nine men who appeared in court today are unrepentant. Their names are Yanga Njingwana, Thembela Mabanjwa, Andile Lili, Loyiso Nkohla, Jaji Diniso, Bantubakhe Mqobodiya, Ben Dyani, Wandisile Mkapa and Bongile Zanazo. Andile Lili has been arrested on a similar charge before. He was one of many who were arrested at a train station in Cape Town for planning the human waste campaign against the city of Cape Town in June. Loyiso Nkohla said: “We will use any form of protest until we get what we want. It is immaterial how many times we get arrested.”
The police have yet to make arrests for the latest dumping incident at the Western Cape Legislature.
