Tomorrow is a national holiday: Youth Day. It commemorates the 1976 Soweto uprising against Apartheid and the introduction of Afrikaans as language of instruction in schools. It is held each year in honour of those youth who lost their lives in the struggle with the police.
Each year, however, Youth Day is also a chance for citizens to protest against the government. In Mpumalanga, people have been very upset with the local water boards as water has only been available sporadically over the past months. Shortages, but mainly poor service, pipeline breakdowns and leakages are responsible for this problem.
This morning as I drove with my supervisor from Nelspruit to Acornhoek we saw thousands of people congregating in the roads only to hear, that some roads had been blocked and cars had been targeted by an angry mob protesting for better water accessibility later in the afternoon.
So for tomorrow I have been advised not to move the car to avoid any incidents.
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