{"id":54482,"date":"2026-03-31T02:37:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T02:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=54482"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:37:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T02:37:31","slug":"eastern-cape-police-alert-violent-protests-kugompo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/03\/31\/eastern-cape-police-alert-violent-protests-kugompo\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Cape police on alert after violent protests in KuGompo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>The demonstration, led by several was held in opposition to the coronation of a so-called Nigerian King.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Eastern Cape police say no arrests were made following volatile protests in opposition to the coronation of a Nigerian king.<\/p>\n<p>More than ten vehicles were torched in KuGompo on Monday during demonstrations led by traditional leaders and community groups.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-violence\">Violence<\/h2>\n<p>The Amathole House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders has issued an unequivocal demand: Solomon Ogbonna Eziko, the Nigerian national coronated as <em>Igwe Ndigbo<\/em> in KuGompo earlier this month, must be deported, along with every individual who took part in the ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>The march had been lawfully applied for and initially proceeded without incident. However, as traditional leaders addressed the crowd from the back of an open vehicle, violence broke out.<\/p>\n<p>A group began hurling stones at buildings, vehicles, and property before setting several vehicles alight. Police responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades.<\/p>\n<p>By the time order was partially restored, at least 12 vehicles had been damaged and two individuals injured. Businesses along the route shuttered their shops ahead of the crowd\u2019s arrival, with a local mechanic telling reporters that protesters had thrown stones and bricks at properties in the area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ:\u00a0\u2018It may lead to bloodshed\u2019: Traditional expert weighs in on \u2018Nigerian king\u2019 in EC<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-arrests\">No Arrests<\/h2>\n<p>Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said they are on alert and monitoring the situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConfirmed figures of damaged vehicles is 10 with one partially torched building in North End. Firefighters arrived in time to extinguish the fire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThus far, no arrests have been made. Public Order Police are monitoring the affected areas,\u201d Gantana said. Albany, Buffalo and Oxford Streets remain the most affected areas. \u201cThe public is urged to exercise caution in these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unrest: East London.Protesters have torched vehicles and buildings. <br \/>Reports say property belonging to foreign nationals are being targeted in protest against the installation of a Nigerian king in the Eastern Cape. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/maT4GqT0iM\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/maT4GqT0iM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Abramjee\/status\/2038578370980548734?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-deportation\">Deportation<\/h3>\n<p>The call for the deportation of Eziko was echoed at the highest levels of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>In a formal letter to the Minister of Home Affairs on 30 March 2026, African Transformation Movement (ATM) parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula demanded the government initiate an urgent investigation into the immigration status of all individuals involved in the coronation and move swiftly to \u201carrest, prosecute and deport all individuals involved in the unlawful coronation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Additional reporting by\u00a0Enkosi Selane<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT:\u00a0Jail time warning for fake kings after Nigerian coronation stirs controversy in East London<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Eastern #Cape #police #alert #violent #protests #KuGompo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The demonstration, led by several was held in opposition to the coronation of a so-called Nigerian King. Eastern Cape police&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54484,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54482\/revisions\/54484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}