IFP: POLICE SHOULD HAVE NOT USED LIVE AMMUNITION IN CATO CREST PROTEST

The IFP is deeply saddened by the death of a 17 year-old school girl who was allegedly shot dead by police yesterday during housing protests in Cato Crest informal settlement in Durban.

IFP Spokesperson on Human Settlements, Mr Petros Sithole said, "It was entirely wrong for the police to have used live ammunition to disperse the protesters. It is always said that police should not use live ammunition when they intervene in protests because they are likely to kill people. All police officers require more training in crowd dispersion techniques in order to avoid unnecessary deaths of innocent people."

Sithole added, "If the eThekwini municipality had responded to the residents' grievances this situation would never have occurred. These are consequences of local government's failure. Informal settlement dwellers are not taken seriously by this government. These people have been living in shacks for years with no development in their areas. The municipality should not wait for residents to lose their patience before they attend to their grievances."

The IFP sends its deepest condolences to the family of Nqobile Nzuza in this very difficult time.

"We further urge the residents of Cato Crest to remain calm and not take the law into their own hands and allow the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to deal with this matter," concluded Sithole.

Statement issued by IFP Spokesperson on Human Settlements, Mr Petros Sithole MP, October 2 2013

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