An eviction to rid Thohoyandou town of alleged illegal vendors tuned nasty when enraged vendors went berserk, wreaking havoc and leaving tons of garbage in their wake.

The vendors were incensed when Thulamela municipality officials allegedly confiscated their stalls and stock. The incident happened on Tuesday this week.

The operation started at about 11:00, when municipal officials, accompanied by traffic police and members of the SAPS, descended onto the town. Unlicensed stalls were removed whilst stock was confiscated.

The operation sparked riots and the whole Thohoyandou Town resembled a war zone, with garbage and broken windows everywhere. The operation progressed to the middle of the town when shoppers, who had mobilized the vendors, started singing and insulting the officials.

The real drama unfolded when officials reached the central post office. All hell broke lose when the mob started throwing garbage on the streets; there was chaos and mayhem everywhere.

There was fire and litter all over the town within minutes, with rioters in sporadic battles with police.

Police allegedly used rubber bullets to disperse the mobs, which went on the rampage, breaking into shops and throwing stones everywhere. Businesses came to a standstill, with licensed vendors and shopkeepers fearing for their lives and looting in their shops.

“They provoked us and we will not fold our arms when they disorganize our lives,” said one of the rioters.

The man said he had been trading in town for as long as he could remember, but now the municipality wanted to chase him away.

“I have not known any other job in my life than selling and they now want to put me out of business. This will only happen over my dead body,” he said.

He said the municipality was refusing them trading licences but wanted them to produce licenses, which they did not have.

“They are working and have a steady income, while we depend on selling for a living. We voted for them and this is how they repay us,” said the angry vendor.

He said they would fight the municipality until they listened to the vendors’ pleas and granted those licenses or else gave them jobs, so that they could fend for their children.

Another street seller who also wanted to remain anonymous said she traded in cooked food in town. “I have tried several times to obtain a license but each time I am refused the license. They claim that they do not want open fires in town. We have been cooking food here in town for many years and no incident of fire has ever been reported,” she said.

Mr Mbulungeni Madi, environmental manager at Thulamela, said the exercise was not meant to chase hawkers from town. “We were just restoring order in town and we wanted to rid the town of illegal activities,” he said.

Madi said the nasty incidents were not foreseen and asked the hawkers to continue to work harmoniously with the municipality.

“We are not fighting our people and we will continue working with their leaders. We will speed up processing their licences,” he said.

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Captain Mashudu Malelo confirmed that police were called to restore calm in the town after several incidents of public violence and looting were reported.

Nine people were arrested at the time of going to press, with more arrests being envisaged.

Malelo said there were incidents of stone throwing and, in the mayhem, a woman shopper was seriously injured when she was hit above the eye with a stone.

He said the arrested would face charges ranging from public violence, malicious damage to property.

At the close of the day, calm had been restored to the town, with only smoldering rubble on the streets.

Municipality garbage collectors had a hectic time trying to clear the debris in the streets.