Ward 3 residents allegedly held their councillor Marcelle Booysen and three others hostage in the Hooggenoeg hall for six hours, only releasing her after police involvement.
Ward 3 residents allegedly held their councillor Marcelle Booysen and three others hostage in the Hooggenoeg hall for six hours, only releasing her after police involvement.
"It was horrible. I keep getting flash backs of that night and it was really shocking," Booysen said to Grocott's Mail about her Wednesday 19 February ordeal.
Booysen says that she was held hostage until 2am the following day.
Booysen was convening an area meeting with two of her ward committee members and a member of the DA at Hooggenoeg public hall.
She has had a troubled relationship with her constituency, with residents of Ward 3 marching to city hall in August 2012, demanding that she be removed as councillor and accusing her of manipulating the housing beneficiary list.
She said the problems in her ward were mainly over housing and have been there for along time.
"This has been happening since 2012. Last week the residents requested a meeting with the mayor and the director of infrastructure but that meeting did not happened," said Booysen.
She said the residents claimed that during the Imbizo last year the Executive Mayor Zamuxolo Peter promised them houses.
"They have that thing in their minds, apparently he said to people they would get houses this year.
"There was also information that in one Ward there must be 12 names submitted to get houses,"
Booysen said her ward committee members were tasked to conveythat message to the residents.
"They never took that information to the community.
"So the people have that in mind and the mayor said he did not mean everyone will get a house," she explained.
Booysen says she requested Peter to come with her to the Hoeggenoeg meeting on Wednesday night to explain this process again but he was not available on the day.
"They think I am the reason they are not getting houses," she said.
On Wednesday evening she went to Hooggenoegcommunity to have a meeting with the residents, she said.
"That is what I do with all the 10 areas in my ward, I have area meetings every now and then and on that day I was going to Hooggenoeg.
"When we got there I could see that some people had an agenda already," said Booysen.
According to Booysen, one of the residents said they wanted an individual on the ward committee to resign and also asked about the housing shortage.
"At that time people got very angry, accusing me that I did not want to understand them," she explained. "This thing touches too many people and it is an impossible task for me now. I phoned the mayor and the speaker and both their phones were off."
"It was that time the community members lost it," she said.
She said the community members were burning tyres and throwing stones. "It was chaotic and we were four women. We are going to lay charges with the police," she says. "I know there is a mastermind behind all of this."
"When I arrived home my children were there waiting for me and they couldn't sleep. It was horrible," said an emotional Booysen.
"I have a family, and the next morning I was so afraid to take my son to school because I was thinking what would happen to him," she said.
She also thanked the residents who helped them and constantly checked if they were still fine inside the hall.
Mayor Peter was not available for comment at the time of publishing.
