Five alleged construction mafia members arrested for blocking bridge in KZN

Suspected members of the construction mafia are due to appear in Camperdown Magistrates Court. (Google© Streetview, Google Maps, taken in 2019)

KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested five alleged construction mafia suspects in connection with blocking a bridge construction site in uMsunduzi, outside Pietermaritzburg.

The five suspects, aged 28 to 44, were arrested on Saturday by the provincial Reaction Task Team.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal police, said: “Police responded to reports of a group of people disrupting activities at a construction site where a bridge is under construction in uMsunduzi.”

According to Netshiunda, the suspect was accused of intimidation and disrupting a construction site.

They will appear in Camperdown District Court on Monday.

READ | ‘They fear no one’: Construction mafia groups delay construction of clinic in Mohlakeng

KwaZulu-Natal is facing ongoing blockades of construction sites. Last week, eight construction projects in Pietermaritzburg were halted by suspected construction mafia groups.

Martin Meyer, MEC of Public Works and Infrastructure, said such threatening behaviour, regardless of the agenda, would not be taken lightly.

He said disruptions on construction sites were a national problem and KwaZulu-Natal was in discussions with Minister of Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson and Premier Thami Ntuli to find ways to put an end to this.

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