By OBAKENG MAJE
15 October 1016 – An alleged attack on nurses by approximately 60 young people carrying dangerous weapons and a toy gun at Mamusa Community Healthcare Centre (CHC) in Ipelegeng Township, near Schweizer Reneke, prompted healthcare workers to protest for several days, demanding the deployment of armed security guards before returning to their duties. The incident allegedly occurred at approximately 3am on Sunday, 4 October 2026, at the healthcare facility in Extension 5.
Mamusa Local Municipality’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Infrastructure, Nomathemba Mvala, disclosed details of the incident in a video published on the municipality’s official Facebook page.
“There was an incident at Mamusa Community Health Centre in Extension 5, Ipelegeng, where approximately 60 young people allegedly attacked nurses at around 3am on a Sunday. They were carrying dangerous weapons, including a toy gun,” Mvala said.
According to Mvala, the incident resulted in healthcare workers protesting for approximately 3–4 days, during which the facility was not operating. The nurses reportedly refused to return to their duties until their concerns regarding security at the facility were addressed.
“The nurses protested for approximately 3 to 4 days following the incident, and the facility was not operating during that period,” she said.
Mvala explained that the municipality subsequently intervened and engaged senior managers from the Mamusa Health Sub-District to address the situation and find a solution to the employees’ concerns. She said as the municipality, they had to intervene and meet with senior managers from the Mamusa Health Sub-District to address the situation at the facility.
“The healthcare workers had demanded armed security personnel as a condition for returning to work, raising concerns about their safety while performing their duties.
“The healthcare workers requested that security at the facility be strengthened through the deployment of armed guards. They indicated that they would only return to work once those security measures were implemented,” Mvala said.
Mvala said the municipality and senior health officials held a meeting on 11 October 2026, where decisions were taken to strengthen security at the facility. She said during their meeting with the senior managers from the Mamusa Health Sub-District on Sunday, they agreed on the necessary security measures to address the concerns raised by the nurses.
“The decisions were implemented the following day, allowing healthcare workers to resume their duties and the facility to return to normal operations.
“The decisions taken during Sunday’s meeting were implemented on Monday, allowing the healthcare facility to resume normal operations,” Mvala said.
However, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has indicated that no attack was reported at the healthcare facility, raising questions about whether the alleged incident was formally brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities.
Responding to an enquiry from The Guardian, police spokesperson in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen said the Ipelegeng Police Station had no record of a criminal complaint relating to the alleged incident.
“The Ipelegeng Police Station confirmed that no case was opened in this regard and there was no attack reported at the clinic,” Van Rooyen said.
Meanwhile, North West Department of Health spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane acknowledged being aware of the incident when approached for comment.
“The department can confirm that an incident occurred at Mamusa Community Healthcare Centre (CHC), wherein armed members of the community forcefully entered the facility. No nurses were attacked or injured.
“Yes, the facility was temporarily non-operational during the night and patients were referred to the hospital. The department has deployed armed security at the CHC. This was demanded by staff members who felt unsafe following this incident,” he said.
Lekgethwane said the matter was reported to the police when the incident occurred and the police were part of the multi-disciplinary team attending to the matter. He said the facility is fully operational.
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