WATCH | Gauteng top cop clashes with Dudula members during Coronationville water protest

“Don't talk to me like that, don't talk to me like that.”

Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni shouted as he wagged his finger at an Operation Dudula member in Coronationville on Thursday morning where protests over lack of water are ongoing.

Police had to jump and hold the Dudula member back while other officers led Mthombeni away from the man who kept inching forward towards the top cop.

This started when Operation Dudula’s Zandile Dabula accused the police of being incompetent and failing to do their jobs. Dabula was the first person to be removed from the scene as she was also exchanging words with Mthombeni.

This sparked an argument which another Dudula member joined. This then resulted in the man and Mthombeni being involved in a heated verbal exchange.

The community of Westbury and Coronationville took to the streets again on Thursday, saying they have had enough.

Families now depend on the local mosque, making at least two trips a day to collect water for their homes.

The residents blocked the roads with boulders and burning tires. They are now monitoring every car entering the area, checking whether it is an emergency vehicle. If not, they turned them around.

Brenda Daniels,70, who has lived in the community all her life said her household has struggled to get a consistent water supply for the past eight years.

Daniels explained that their houses now stink because toilets cannot flush properly and they cannot bathe their children.

Pointing to her granddaughter beside her, she said the child has not been able to attend school for the past two days.

All around, residents could be seen carrying buckets and trolleys loaded with containers of water back to their homes – some with three buckets, others with as many as five.

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