PHUTI MOSOMANE
THOUSANDS marched through the streets of Pretoria and other towns across the country to agitate for the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa amid threats of violence and looting.
The march started at the lawns of the Church Square in Pretoria and ended outside Ramaphosa’s home at the Bryntirion Estate, not far from the Union Buildings.
EFF leader Julius Malema claimed that despite critics labelling the march as a failure, it was actually the most successful protest in the country.
The protest march was attended by a variety of personalities and political leaders, including former military veterans’ spokesperson Carl Niehaus, former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, African Transformation Movement (ATM) President Vuyo Zungula and African People’s Convention (APC) President Themba Godi.
“Today, we’ve got an appointment with the streets. We are not going to run. We are not going to do anything. We just walk nicely and raise our concerns,” Malema told protesters at the Church Square in Pretoria.
“They say the shutdown is not successful because there is no looting, because there is no burning of property or any leaders who are arrested. They want to project the EFF as an organization of anarchists. We are an organization of peaceful forces of the left which can shutdown the country without burning the buildings or looting.”
Malema also took the time to publicly criticize Mbalula, accusing him of being a sell-out and the most unreliable politician in South Africa, only concerned with obtaining government positions.
“Comrades, don’t name your child after Mbalula. He might become a sell-out like Mbalula. He might drink alcohol like Mbalula. Mbalula, I know him. He sings for his supper. He cries when they remove him from government positions. He cries like a small baby. That’s why he still cries for the position of Minister of Police to this day. When they were doing a Cabinet reshuffle, not so long ago, he kept on reminding us how he was removed as the Minister of Police. That thing is still a pain to him as if he was born to be a Minister of Police. So, don’t listen to such sell-outs who sings for their supper.”
Deputy President of the EFF, Floyd Shivambu, addressed a crowd of protesters who started in the sprawling township of Alexandra, then moved to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton and ended at the gates of Eskom’s Megawatt Park in Sunninghill.
On the other hand, EFF Secretary-General, Marshall Dlamini, led protests in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal as the party spearheaded the national shutdown in the east coast.
In Limpopo, EFF Deputy Chairperson Rassy Maepa said marches in his province started very early in Seshego, Mankweng and the capital Polokwane and proceeded well throughout the day.
Law enforcement officers through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) said they had arrested 87 protestors across the country for public violence related offences.
Of the eighty-seven arrested, 41 were arrested in Gauteng, 29 in North West, 15 in Free State. There are also arrests in other provinces such as Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said at least 24 300 tyres were confiscated by law enforcement agencies.
“These were tyres that were strategically placed for acts of criminality. 6000 were seized in the Western Cape, 4500 in the Free State, 3600 in Gauteng, 1513 in the Eastern Cape and a few in other provinces,” said Mathe.
“The Natjoints will not allow and tolerate any forms of lawlessness and acts of criminality. Anyone found to be contravening the law will be dealt with accordingly. Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality, maintain public order, protect the inhabitants of South Africa and their property as well as uphold and enforce the law.”
According to ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, the party expressed gratitude towards all South Africans who chose not to participate in the extremist and regressive so-called shutdown.
“In South Africa there is no place or tolerance for vigilantism and forceful removal of an incumbent government. The ANC is fully committed to doing what the people of South Africa expect, demand, and deserve,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
“The ANC acknowledges that everyone has the right to protest, and in line with the rule of law, all protest actions must be lawful. According to the Bill of Rights enshrined in our Constitution, no person or grouping may engage in an illegal protest action or impose their protest action on everyone who does not support it.”
PHOTO: Eddie Mtsweni
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