TimesLIVE reports that a motorist was killed and several police vehicles were damaged on Friday when hundreds of people rioted over the closure of a mine co-owned by Patrice Motsepe.
Unrest erupted in Badplaas, near Barberton in Mpumalanga, over non-renewal of employment contracts at the Nkomati nickel mine, jointly owned by Motsepe's African Rainbow Minerals and Norilsk Nickel Africa. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brig Leonard Hlathi said six police vehicles, a traffic department vehicle and a provincial government vehicle were damaged by protesters on Friday. He said a woman was killed when a truck smashed into eight stationary vehicles. Two police officers also sustained minor injuries after they were attacked during the protest. Hlathi said the protests began in the early hours and demonstrators demanded talks with Nkomati mine managers. When their demands were unsuccessful, they blockaded roads with rubble, tyres, trees and scrap metal. Nkomati nickel mine general manager David Malunga said he learned of the protest, about 40km from the mine, when some staff arrived at work late. He said employees, host communities, the government and all stakeholders were told in 2019 that the mine had reached the end of its economic life, and a retrenchment process was well advanced. "Nkomati mine currently employs 500 permanent employees and has approximately 1,000 contractors. Mining operations would stop by early March. This will be followed by the processing operations which will cease towards the end of March.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mpumzi Zuzile at TimesLIVE
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