Diepsloot
Diepsloot family left reeling after man (35) shot dead over R20
On Sunday, Saki Mokoka Maboatle was taking a walk with a friend when he was gunned down by an unknown man, who pulled the trigger after the deceased said he had...
The day that is usually characterised by scenes of people rushing to shopping malls but appears to be different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spaza shops, hair salons and street vendors are the main drivers of the local economy in Diepsloot but without power, they say their businesses are as good as dead.
The majority of Diepsloot residents use illegally connected power, for which they illegally pay about R1,800 to connect to their houses and street lights.
Eskom conducted an operation to remove illegal power connections in Diepsloot. But unhappy residents said they needed it for their safety and that government only came when they needed the votes. #Eskom #Diepsloot
The power utility visited the informal settlement on Tuesday morning to disconnect illegal connections.
Eskom technicians removed illegal power connections in Diepsloot on 29 September 2020. They were accompanied by the police and Red Ants as they conducted the operation. Residents looked on as their source of electricity was removed taken out.
Eskom technicians were in Diepsloot on Tuesday morning to remove illegal electricity connections.
Diepsloot has a population of about 300,000 people and due to the high density of people living in the area, social distancing is hard to observe.
Residents of Diepsloot have been voicing their dissatisfaction with the state of the township and even took to the streets in protest recently. EWN and 702 visited the area to better understand the situation.
Residents went on the rampage last week, barricading roads and burning objects.
Police Minister Bheki Cele deployed the special operations team to the township on Friday following concerns of high levels of crime.
The minister addressed angry residents in the township earlier on Friday, alongside Police Minister Bheki Cele, amid heightened tensions over safety concerns.
They are demanding that undocumented foreigners leave the area, accusing them of being responsible for the crime.
The circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear, but it was understood the schoolgirl died on the scene moments after impact.
Community members were protesting over high levels of crime, saying undocumented foreigners were to blame.
Protesters claim nine people have been killed since November allegedly by undocumented foreigners.
Still visibly shaken after her near-death experience, a commuter remembered every detail of her frightening journey home.
Residents said they had been without electricity for over two months after several power transformers exploded.