The People’s Water Forum condemns in the strongest possible terms the shooting of Soshanguve residents with rubber bullets while they were protesting the lack of water in their community.
Residents in Soshanguve have reportedly been without water for two weeks. Across Gauteng, dry taps over days and in some cases, weeks have driven frustrated and desperate communities to demand urgent answers from Johannesburg Water, Rand Water and the City of Johannesburg about how they plan to avert the deepening water crisis.
This week, protest action broke out in several affected municipalities. In some Johannesburg suburbs, protests resulted in visits from a high-level government delegation. Officials acknowledged poor communication and urged communities to work with government to mitigate the crisis.
Yet in low-income and historically underserved communities such as Soshanguve, the response was starkly different. On 12 February, just one day after the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, and Deputy Minister David Mahlobo briefed the middle-class community in Kensington and made a stop to talk to protesters in Emmarentia, Soshanguve residents were met not with dialogue, but with rubber bullets. This uneven and violent treatment of mostly marginalised and working-class communities protesting the denial of a basic constitutional right is unacceptable.
As recently as September 2025 residents of Coronationville and surrounding areas were also met with violence by state security forces. When marginalised communities want to be heard, they are met with violence, arrest and suppression.
This is what oppressive governments do, not ones founded on constitutional and democratic values.
When taps run dry for weeks, when communication fails, and when no clear plan is provided, protest becomes the only avenue left for communities to be heard. It cannot be that people are met with force simply for demanding water.
Water is a constitutional right. It is not a privilege reserved for certain suburbs. The response to this crisis cannot depend on a community’s postcode.
The People’s Water Forum calls on the relevant authorities to urgently investigate who authorised the use of force against protesters in Soshanguve and to take appropriate action, including the release of the investigation’s findings. We further call on the City of Johannesburg, Joburg Water, Rand Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation to prioritise transparent communication, equitable intervention, and immediate relief to affected communities.
Communities asking for water should never be answered with bullets.
Donate to WaterCAN
Across South Africa, WaterCAN’s volunteers and citizen scientists are monitoring drinking water and sanitation failures, uncovering risks, and demanding action from those responsible. We challenge polluters, call out government negligence, and stand with communities whose rights to safe water and sanitation are routinely violated. Your support keeps this watchdog work alive and powerful.
For Media Enquiries contact WaterCAN Communications Manager on Jonathan Erasmus 073 227 6075 or email media@watercan.org.za.
