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Bloemfontein - The policeman who was seriously injured when a protest march in the small Northern Cape town of Kakamas turned violent, is still in a coma.
Henk Lourens, a member of the police’s Public Order Unit in Upington was airlifted to the Bloemfontein Medi-Clinic last Friday afternoon after being hit by a bakkie when protestors tried to drive into the Kakamas municipal offices.
“His condition is unchanged. He is still on a ventilator in ICU, where he was put in an induced medical coma,” Medi-Clinic spokesperson Amanda Appelgryn told News24.
Lourens is being treated for head and chest injuries.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said a group of upset residents marched to the municipal offices on Friday last week to hand over a memorandum to municipal manager Gilbert Lategan.
“The municipal manager was not present to receive the memorandum and this infuriated the community. [They] started hurling rubble at Mayor Roy Olyn and the councillors,” Mdhluli said.
According to him, four people were arrested and detained on charges of attempted murder and public violence. The situation is now calm.
