WeeklySA_AdminDISRUPTION: A weeks-long water crisis in Ratanda boiled over into deadly unrest, leaving two people dead, the mayor’s home in flames and 15 people behind bars as IPID investigates whether police were responsible for the fatalities…
By Lehlohonolo Lehana
The South African Police Service in Gauteng has arrested 15 suspects in connection with incidents of public violence during the unrest in the Heidelberg township of Ratanda, which resulted in the burning down of the house of a local mayor.
Police said in a statement that no arrests had yet been made in connection with the burning by angry protestors of the Executive Mayor Mluleki Nkosi’s house Ratanda (Extension 23), South-East of Johannesburg . Investigations into the arson incident are ongoing, and police are following up on all available leads.
A police contingent remained deployed in the area to maintain law and order and will continue to investigate all criminal acts committed during the unrest.
The violence erupted as part of a service delivery protest regarding a water crisis caused by the municipality failing to settle a R27 million debt with Rand Water.
As a result, Rand Water implemented a 20% reduction in bulk water supply to the municipality.
The utility was forced to act after multiple meetings and debt settlement agreements failed, sparking severe water outages and protests.
The protest action has now spread to other parts of the community with a large police contingent deployed to the area after tensions escalated. They turned deadly, with the community claiming two people were killed during clashes with police.
Community activist Bayanda Radebe alleges one of the victims was sitting outside a tavern and was not involved in the protest.
Fullview learnt that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the deaths of two people.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Shuping said IPID is probing whether the deaths resulted from police action.
“The Ratanda matter was reported to IPID yesterday, July 2 2026 and we have begun with our preliminary investigations, where we are looking at the alleged deaths due to police action.
“We have also been informed that the second person who was in hospital has succumbed to their injuries and we now need to allow the investigation process to take its course.”
“All the community wanted was water, but residents in Ratanda said they’re being met with rubber bullets for speaking out,” added Shuping.”
Residents have been without running water for roughly three to five weeks. The crisis stems from the municipality’s inability to settle the Rand Water debt.
Several municipalities owe Rand Water an accumulated debt of approximately R9 billion in Gauteng. The largest municipal debtors include:
• Emfuleni Local Municipality: owes over R1.9 billion.
• Merafong City Local Municipality: holds high historical arrears.
• Lesedi Local Municipality: owes over R27 million, prompting a 20% bulk water supply reduction.
• Rand West City Local Municipality: carries significant overdue debt.
• Victor Khanye Local Municipality: owes hundreds of millions in arrears.
• Govan Mbeki Local Municipality: continues to owe millions.
The three main metros—Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni—are largely current on their bulk accounts and do not contribute to this primary overdue debt. – Fullview/WSAM
MIRROR Briefs
MOB BURNS MAYOR’S HOUSE
The home of Lesedi Local Municipality Mayor, Mluleki Nkosi, was torched, by angry protesters in Ratanda (Extension 23), South-East of Johannesburg after the municipality failed to settle a multi-million debt with Rand Water. The violence erupted as part of service delivery protest regarding a water crisis caused by the municipality failing to settle a R27 million debt with Rand Water.
As a result, Rand Water implemented a 20% reduction in bulk water supply to the municipality.
The utility was forced to act after multiple meetings and debt settlement agreements failed, sparking severe water outages and protests.
The protest action has now spread to other parts of the community with a large police contingent deployed to the area after tensions escalated. They turned deadly, with the community claiming two people were killed during clashes with police.
Community activist, Bayanda Radebe, alleges that one of the victims was sitting outside a tavern and was not involved in the protest. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the deaths of two people. IPID spokesperson, Lizzy Shuping, said IPID was probing whether the deaths resulted from police action. “The Ratanda matter was reported to IPID and we have begun with our preliminary investigations, where we are looking at the deaths due to alleged police action’’.- Lehlohonolo Lehana.
STEPS TO IMPROVE MEDICAL CARE FOR KIDS
The Gauteng Department of Health has rolled out a suite of targeted interventions aimed at drastically reducing paediatric surgical wait times and accelerating access to specialised medical care for infants and children at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH).
According to the department, the provincial health system has faced mounting pressure regarding delays for elective operations. The interventions include:
• Strengthening theatre efficiency.
• Improving waiting list management.
• Enhancing the scheduling of surgical cases and implementing the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) programme, which supports improved patient flow and more effective utilisation of theatre capacity across Gauteng public hospitals.
The department noted that paediatric surgery remained a “highly specialised service that managed a wide range of conditions affecting infants and children”. Despite “ongoing service pressures” and demand for these surgeries, the hospital has “a stable paediatric surgical programme, performing more than 2000 paediatric surgical procedures annually over the past several years”.
“The department acknowledges that waiting times for some elective paediatric procedures remain a challenge. Contributing factors include increased demand for emergency surgical services, limited theatre capacity, the availability of specialised anaesthetic personnel and constrained access to post-operative and critical care beds.”
However, emergency admissions often disrupted planned schedules, leading to postponements of elective procedures. – Sanews.
COURT EXPOSES FORT HARE
The Bisho High Court has overturned the University of Fort Hare (UFH) decision to deregister Eastern Cape premier, Oscar Mabuyane, from its Master’s programme.
Mabuyane was deregistered from a master of public administration qualification in March 2021 and took the matter to court to fight the university.
In handing down judgment, Judge Lindiwe Rusi ruled that while the University of Fort Hare had the authority to deregister students who did not meet admission requirements, it failed to follow the principles of procedural fairness before removing Mabuyane from the Master of Administration programme.
The court declared the deregistration unlawful and constitutionally invalid, set aside the decision, and ordered the university to reconsider Mabuyane’s admission to the master’s programme, taking into account relevant evidence relating to his prior learning and experience. The university was also ordered to pay the costs of the court application. In explaining the remedy, Judge Rusi said the matter had to be referred back to the university to ensure the admission process was conducted fairly. “I come to the conclusion that this will be achieved by an order directing the University to re-start the process of reviewing the applicant’s admission to the MA degree having regard to procedural fairness,” the judge said. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
COPS NABBED 51 LOOTERS
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli has commended residents, law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders for ensuring that province-wide protests against illegal immigration remained largely peaceful and orderly.
Addressing the media following demonstrations held across the province on June 30, 2026, Ntuli said the protests had tested the province’s leadership and security structures but ultimately demonstrated the strength of democratic processes. “The province-wide protests and demonstrations vehemently tested our capacity to lead and we emerged triumphant,” the Premier said.
Ntuli was joined by Acting KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Major General Phumelele Makoba and the province’s newly appointed Director-General, Nokuthula Khanyile.
The Premier commended law enforcement agencies for their determination and diligence in preventing anarchy, chaos and widespread disruption. He also praised communities across KwaZulu-Natal for exercising restraint, responsibility and maturity throughout the demonstrations.
He said the conduct of the majority of citizens demonstrated the province’s commitment to democratic expression, peace and stability.
While welcoming the largely peaceful nature of the protests, Ntuli condemned incidents in which individuals allegedly hijacked the demonstrations for criminal purposes by engaging in acts of looting, vandalism and other criminal activities.
“We commend the police for arresting 51 people implicated in looting and vandalism. This sent a stern warning to lawbreakers that they do not have a place in KwaZulu-Natal.” – Sanews.
