Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor, Clr Mondli Gungubele, has strongly condemned the burning and looting of Phenduka Clinic in Thokoza on Tuesday night.

“No person in their right mind can accept such kind of senseless thuggery. I have noticed with concern that every time people are aggrieved about something, they all of a sudden turn to setting public facilities down. We saw this in Vuwani and a number of areas and now we have to deal with the same,” a distraught Gungubele said after visiting the crime scene.

It is alleged that the clinic was set alight by “angry” residents following a power outage in the area last night.

“However, now we discover that computers and medication, among others, were stolen. Clearly criminals took advantage of a genuine situation and carried out this act of thuggery,” Gungubele explained.

“The sad part is that when you burn a clinic or a school the most vulnerable members of society are always on the receiving end.

“Furthermore, such incidents take the country back because resources that were meant to improve the general living conditions of our people end up being diverted to make up for the loss.

“Fortunately in this city we do not have space for such ridiculous deeds and therefore we have set up a high level metro police task team to get to the bottom of this incident. We want the thugs behind bars as a matter of urgency and the community must assist us to ensure that this happens as soon as possible,” Gungubele pleaded.

Although no one had been arrested at the time of the mayor’s visit, he indicated they were following strong leads.