Angry KwaMashu hostel dwellers in the north of Durban embarked on protests early Wednesday morning demanding that the government provide them with buses to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s funeral on Saturday.
They argue that since this is a State funeral, the government must bus them to Ulundi, instead of them of them paying out of their pockets for the trip.
According to some sources who reside at the notorious hostel, the hostel dwellers blocked several roads until a police battalion moved in and dispersed them by firing rubber bullets and teargas.
NEWS: KwaMashu hostel dwellers in Durban engaged in an early dawn protest to demand that the government provide them with buses to attend Saturday's funeral of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. They argue that since this is a state funeral, the government must bus them to Ulundi
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) September 13, 2023
The hostel is a long-held stronghold of the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) and several attempts by the ANC to win the ward where the hostel is located have failed.
“There was a meeting last night (Tuesday) where it was resolved that the only way to force the government to provide the buses is to protest, hence this.
“When we woke up this morning all roads were closed and they moved to the township and closed the road to KwaMashu station (Malandela road),” a resident who spoke to IOL on condition of anonymity said on Wednesday morning.
One of the Indunas (headman), Nicholas Biyela, confirmed the protest to IOL and claimed that the government promised them buses to Ulundi, but he did not specify which sphere of government made that undertaking.
“We just wanted the buses that were promised to us, that’s all,” Biyela said briefly.
Buthelezi died on September 9, aged 95, and he will be buried in Ulundi on Saturday, September 16. President Cyril Ramaphosa accorded him a state funeral with full military honours.
Thousands of mourners are expected to converse in Ulundi to pay their final respects to the towering Zulu figure who founded the IFP and was the longest-serving traditional prime minister of the Zulu monarch and nation.
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