Khutsong is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

on the West Rand of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and scene of widespread unrest starting in February 2006. It is situated north-west of the town of Carletonville, in the Merafong City Local Municipality of the

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

province, just west of the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve. With a terrible history of violence and gangsterism, the main factors causing crime rates to spike up from 2011 until late 2019 are mainly high poverty rates, municipality mismanagement and corruption and the lack of employment/job creating opportunities. In 2017/18 thousands of mine workers lost their jobs due to mines shutting down.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as subtropical highland (Cwb). Summer days are generally warm or slightly hot, summer nights are mild, while winter days are warm and winter nights are cool. Most of the rain falls in summer.

Local events

Riots

Following the abolition of cross-border municipalities, the entire Merafong City Local Municipality which includes Khutsong, was transferred from the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng Province to the Southern District Municipality in the North West Province. The residents of Khutsong objected to the transfer from wealthy Gauteng to the poorer North West. Only 123 votes were cast in the local government elections held on 1 March 2006. Actions taken by residents included an application to the Pretoria High Court and violent incidents, including petrol bombing the homes of

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

candidates, blocking roads and the destruction of municipal property. One important element in the Khutsong issue relates to environmental security. The Khutsong community is physically located alongside some of the richest gold mines in the world. Recent research conducted by the Water Research Commission in South Africa has shown that heavy metal and radionuclide contamination is closely associated with rivers and wetlands downstream of major mining operations. The Khutsong community is located in such an aquatic ecosystem, so the environmental dimension to this conflict is an important and largely unexplored one. On 27 April 2007 when President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

was celebrating Freedom Day at Bhisho renewed riots reminiscent of those which occurred in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

on 16 June 1976 took place in the streets of Khutsong. On 4 December 2008 it was announced that Khutsong and the rest of the Merafong Municipality would be reintegrated into the Gauteng Province. The passage of the Sixteenth Amendment to the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the human rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of t ...

, altering the provincial boundaries accordingly, came into effect on 3 April 2009.

Vigilantism

On the 3 November 2013 number of vigilante mobs totalling around 700 people attacked alleged gang members across Khutsong. Six people died in the attacks including five alleged gangsters and one sangoma believed to have been giving the gangsters muti and moral support. It is reported that the event took place as a result of high levels of violent crime and the ongoing abduction of young girls as well as the recruitment of school children into the gangs. Local community members tried to organise a meeting with the police but were unable to gain an audience with them, after which they organised a meeting of their own to discuss the gang problem. One of the largest of the local gangs, the Casanovas, then sought to break-up the meeting by sending over one hundred gang members to beat people at the meeting. Twenty people were injured and this led the community to regroup and vow revenge and the vigilante mob was formed. Arrests were never made.

Notes and references

External links

Inkatha Freedom Party - Mbeki must intervene at KhutsongGovernment Notice on transfer of Merafong City Local MunicipalityMerafong City Local Municipality pageGoogle News Link on Khutsong
{{West Rand District Municipality Townships in Gauteng Populated places in the Merafong City Local Municipality