The unrest that erupted in Nkqubela, Robertson on Thursday caused many residents to flee their homes in fear of their safety.
According to local ward councillor in Nqkubela, Zola Gxowa, the unrest started at 03:30 on Thursday morning when local Zimbabweans and people from Lesotho clashed about farm work.
“At this point I am not entirely sure how the situation came about, but I do believe there were instigators,” he said on Friday. They were fighting because they claim no work is being given to the BaSothos.”
According to Robertson police spokesperson Warrant Officer Blacky Swart, by Friday morning 15 people had been injured. No loss of life had been reported.
In a video circulating on social media a police truck can be seen trying to disperse the gathered mob and firing tear gas.
“Members of the police are closely monitoring the situation,” Swart said.
Gxowa further explained the unrest continued throughout the night.
“The only time things calmed down was when there was a meeting with the labour department, farmers and other stakeholders.
“However, things flared up again after that.”
A local business, Burgrill Burgers, situated about 1 km from Nqkubela, sent its staff home early on Thursday.
“We decided to close our doors because half our staff are Zimbabwean,” owner Chanté Enslin said. “We wanted them to go home so they could assess the situation and see whether they needed to do anything. Some of them also have children who attend school in Nqkubela, whom they needed to collect.”
The business opened its doors on Friday morning.
“Fridays are normally busy for us and in this economy every cent counts. All our staff members are safe and no-one was harmed. The situations looks better today (Friday),” Enslin shared with Gazette.
Gxowa, however, said things were carrying on in the same manner on Friday.
“The situation is not good. people are scared for their lives,” he said. “It is especially bad for the children who weren’t able to go to school because of the unrest.”
Gxowa added four informal structures were destroyed in fires as a direct result of the unrest.
According to Swart, the police had a meeting with those involved in the unrest on Friday afternoon.
“We had a meeting with them, and after that things seemed to calm down, and the unrest was halted, with no further reports received,” he said in an update on the situation. At the time of writing no-one had been arrested yet in connection with the unrest.
