Over 50 people have been arrested following violence at the St. George’s Hotel in Irene, south of Pretoria. This after a crowd of army veterans held hostage Defence Minister, Thandi Modise, her deputy Thabang Makwetla and Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele.
The three were taken hostage by several struggle war veterans on Thursday night.
The veterans blocked the entrance to the hotel as the officials attempted to leave allegedly because the meeting wasn’t proceeding as planned.
The crowd accused Modise of not addressing their grievances.
SABC Political Reporter, Samkele Maseko, says the special forces had to break into the hotel in order to rescue the officials.
The army veterans were protesting against the government’s failure to pay them reparations.
Minister in the Presidency, Gungubele, who was one of the hostages, called the incident untenable and criminal. He has thanked Minister of Police, Bheki Cele and the security forces for coming to their rescue.
Minister in the Presidency, Mr Mondli Gungubele gives an account of the incident which occurred at St George’s Hotel earlier this evening during a meeting between the Presidential Task Team on Matters of Military Veterans and Military Veterans. pic.twitter.com/RYcNq5Pwbf
— Presidency | South Africa
(@PresidencyZA) October 14, 2021
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