Limited services are available at a clinic in Town Two, Khayelitsha, after part of the building was set alight earlier this week.  

Residents of the nearby Marikana informal settlement are accused of torching the facility on Monday evening after allegedly being stopped from making illegal electricity connections.  

The City of Cape Town’s Health Department confirmed that they damaged the motorised vehicle gate as they got onto the premises, noting that the group also damaged the Eskom transformer on the premises.  

“The outside waste room was gutted, but the clinic remains intact,” read the City’s statement. 

While the building remained intact, the clinic was left without power. 

The City Health Department added that a group of people then protested the following evening, on Tuesday, burning tyres outside the premises of the clinic.  

As a result, the facility was closed. It reopened on Thursday, offering limited services.  

Meanwhile, Makhaza police are investigating a case of arson. 

Western Cape SAPS spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said that reports suggest security officers at the clinic were threatened by community members, before the facility was set alight.  

He added that the suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.  

“The attack on the clinic must be condemned – there is no justification for damaging community assets in this manner,” read the City’s statement.  

The City and police have urged anyone with information about who is responsible, to contact the South African Police Service. Information can also be reported to the City’s 24-hour tip for reward line (0800 110077).