On Tuesday, about 100 residents travelled 85km to the court in Mthatha to support community members who have been taken to court by Elundini Local Municipality for seizing a road grader.
The Elundini Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape has taken a dozen people, including the Ugie police station commander, to court. The municipality is seeking an order to compel them to return its road grader. The grader was sent to Elalini village in September.
Bhaloni Mdludlu, who is 88 and cited as third respondent, said the Uncedo Taxi Association had stopped servicing the village because of the poor road. Ambulances could not reach the village.
“When someone is sick or there is a death in the village, we are forced to carry the person ourselves to the next stop or use horses,” said Mdludlu.
He said they asked the municipality in May 2025 to fix the 4km road.
The villagers, who are mostly elderly, attempted to repair the road themselves, placing road materials they bought to fill the worst eroded areas.
Mdludlu’s daughter, Khayakazi, said, “During holidays we come back home and see the daily struggles our parents face. What pushed us most was that even taxis could no longer access the village.”
Village youngsters, who now work in urban centres, raised R18,000 to hire a construction vehicle to repair the road in August.
The municipality sent a grader and promised to complete the work.
“What made us angry is that the grader was here for less than a week and instead of fixing the road, it messed up what our children had already paid for,” said Bhaloni. “Now the road is a mess.”
According to court papers, “despite police presence” the villagers refused to return the grader. The vehicle operator said they threatened to torch the grader.
Community leader Malibongwe Mbanga told the court that they want the dispute resolved.
Mbanga told GroundUp the grader is in a safe place and the driver comes to pump the tyres.
“We simply want the road to be fixed,” he said.
He said they were angered to learn that there was a budget for the road but it was never used and had lapsed.
The Ugie police station commander did not appear in court, and provincial police spokesperson Captain Ursula Roelofse said she was unaware of the matter before the court.
The case was postponed to 10 March. The respondents were instructed to obtain legal representation and file papers before 6 March.
The municipal spokesperson and municipal manager did not respond to our questions.
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