The township of Mondlo in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Vryheid has become a site of skirmishes between the Abaqulusi local municipality and protestors after the municipality allegedly decided to implement a crippling load reduction schedule without consultation.
The skirmishes in the coal mining town started on Wednesday morning when protestors blocked roads in the township, crippling businesses and the movement of goods and people.
Torched municipal offices, tractors
Later in the day, the protestors intensified their fight against the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) municipality by marching to its office and torching it. They also torched TLBs (tractor-loaded backhoe construction trucks) that were parked within the premises.
Another TLB was stolen and driven around. It was later found torched on one of the township streets.
On Thursday morning, the community of Cliffdale joined the fight and blocked the road between Vryheid and Pongola. The situation got tense when the police and municipal security guards came to clear the road. Tempers flared when a security officer was seen in a video threatening to shoot a protester. This prompted the other protesters to dare him and face their wrath.
The road was later cleared after the mayor, Sifiso Khehla Mkhwanazi, called the leaders of the protestors to a meeting. The meeting was arranged in the town hall to iron out their grievances. It was still underway when this report was compiled.
The fight between the residents and the municipality was sparked by a letter dated September 6 2025. It was signed off by the municipal manager, Sibongukuhle Dlamini.
Power shortage ignited protest
Dlamini announced that the municipality has decided to implement the power cuts due to power shortage. The cuts would be between 5am and 9am and 5pm and 9pm every day.
“This power cut is due to reduced power supply. The community is advised to disconnect all appliances and treat all cables as live,” Dlamini said in her letter.
The municipality is yet to comment on the matter and how much it owes Eskom. But a few years ago it was listed among the KZN municipalities that owed Eskom a lot of money. And the power utility had to cut the power it supplies on a bulk basis.
MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, promised to intervene. He said he will visit the area to find solutions with the municipality and Eskom.
