MAHIKENG - Looting continued unabated in North West capital Mahikeng on Thursday, as the call for Premier Supra Mahumapelo to vacate office grew.
In Lonely Park, north of Mahikeng, youngsters used catapults to loop stones at the police along Nelson Mandela Drive near the Hotel School, they used corrugated iron sheets as shields as they pelted the police with stones.
The police fired rubber bullets and teargas to dispersed the raging youngsters and in the mist of a cat and mouse game between them and the police -- a truck parked at Agri-Market in Lonely Park was petrol bombed.
Fire fighters were called to extinguish the fire under police guard, some members of the police went into the township to dispersed pockets of protesters who had blocked the roads with branches and rocks.
A truck was petrol bombed in Lonely Park in Mahikeng on Thursday, as the calls for North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo to resign grew. Several shops were looted in Mahikeng and surrounding villages.
MEDIA: Molaole Montsho/ANA
North West police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Adele Myburgh said a police armoured vehicle (Nyala) was petrol bombed in Danville south of Mahikeng.
"A Nyala was thrown with a petrol bomb but, it did not burn out," she said.
She said a police officer's house was also attacked by a rioting crowd in Danville.
"She was not hurt, police members were near to her house and assisted her, only one room of her house was damaged."
Residents of Mahikeng and surrounding villages shut down the capital demanding that Mahumapelo resign.
The protest was ignited by the death of two people at Montshioa Stad Clinic on Tuesday, the two could not receive medical attention at the clinic due to the ongoing National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) led strike in the province.
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Members of Nehawu have been on strike since February 26, demanding the dismissal of head of department Dr Thabo Lekalakala; the termination of contracted companies by the department; a bonus payment of five percent across the board to all employees in the department; the payment of occupation specific dispensation (OSD) for employees at provincial offices; and an increase of Community Health Workers' salaries.
Residents want Mahumapelo to resign on allegations of rampant corruption under his leadership.
A motion of no confidence in Mahumapelo was postponed on Tuesday, after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) requested that Speaker Sussana Dantjie postpone the motion while they approached the courts to force the motion to be conducted through a secret ballot.
Dantjie wanted the motion to proceed through an open ballot.
Police were monitoring the situation in several villages in Mahikeng, a police plane also monitored the situation from the sky.