When the sun goes down: Mamelodi residents turn on each other in blackout
Several houses and shacks have been petrol-bombed and damaged in Mamelodi East in Tshwane following an overnight battle between residents of a middle class area of Mahube Valley and those of a nearby informal settlement. Police said the conflict between the neighbours‚ separated by the main road to Cullinan and KwaMhlanga‚ was sparked by a damaged electricity transformer that left the whole area without electricity on Tuesday. Mamelodi police spokesperson Capt Mahlahlane Maheso said the two conflicting groups started accusing each other of tampering with the transformer, and then hurled stones at each other and attacked houses and shacks on Wednesday night. "The whole area was affected by the blackout when the transformer was damaged and there were accusations and counteraccusations‚ which ultimately culminated into a full-on battle," he said. "Petrol bombs and stones started flying and several houses and shacks were damaged." Maheso said police intervened in an attempt to restore o...
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