EFF leader Julius Malema (Oupa Nkosi)
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema on Monday pronounced the minority party’s “national shutdown” a success, but the government maintained it was a flop.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said on television the shutdown had failed because many businesses had stayed open. Those that were closed did so largely to enjoy an extended four-day weekend given Tuesday’s public holiday.
Flanked by expelled ANC member Carl Niehaus and the African Transformation Movement’s Mzwanele Manyi, Malema led a march of several thousand people to the Union Buildings that house President Cyril Ramaphosa’s offices, and then to the presidential guest house.
Addressing supporters, Malema described the protest as “historic” and “the most successful in the history of this country”, insisting the EFF had closed the country down as intended in a show of anger over electricity load-shedding, and to press Ramaphosa to resign.
“This country is out of control. Today we did something. We are here to reclaim our government, we are here to say to Ramaphosa he must leave and he must leave now,” Malema said.
“We are not scared of Ramaphosa and his soldiers. We are not scared of Bheki Cele, we are not scared of the police.
“Today we have got an appointment with the street. We are not going to run, we just walk nicely and raise our concern. The police must know that they must never act outside the Constitution. They have a duty to protect us and have a duty to make sure no one disturbs this protest.”
Police were out in full force in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which had been rocked by looting and vandalism in July 2021 ostensibly triggered by former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration for contempt of court.
In Johannesburg, the Megawatt Park headquarters of power utility Eskom, which has come under criticism for the rolling blackouts, were under guard, with South African Police Service (SAPS) and metro police officials as well as private security personnel camped at the gates.
Malema said Ramaphosa’s government intended to privatise the state-owned entities, including Eskom and Transnet, and that the shutdown was a response to that.
He defended the burning of tyres during the protest, saying that this was not “destruction of property” but rather an expression of “the culture of protest”.
“We are burning our own tyres, so what’s wrong with that?’ he asked.
He said the EFF was not involved in regime change or an attempted coup, and that the characterisation of the shutdown as such by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was “stupid”.
In Durban, the EFF, led by secretary general Marshall Dlamini, marched from its offices through the city centre to the beachfront and to the popular Florida Road entertainment area.
Marchers had intended to converge on Phoenix, in the north of the city, where 34 people were killed in the 2021 riots, but were deterred from doing so by the security forces and had to satisfy themselves with marching in the city.
At Florida Road, they were diverted by the police, who refused to allow them to protest outside restaurants along the road, which had been filling up with people who had taken advantage of Monday’s unofficial public holiday ahead of Human Rights Day on Tuesday.
They then made their way back to the EFF provincial office in Glenwood, from where they were expected to disperse under a heavy police presence.
There were reports of small protests on the Higginson highway and Bayview Bridge, as well as the Ndwedwe area, which all had a high police presence, according to community policing forums (CPFs).
In the Umbilo/Berea area, which was badly hit during the July 2021 riots, CPFs and community patrollers were out in full force, having been on shift from 7pm on Sunday.
The patrollers used Zello (walkie talkie) apps to keep residents updated on where the marchers were and which routes and roads they were taking.
The spokesperson for eThekwini Neighbourhood Watch, Boni Mthiyane, said the organisation had placed its patrollers at malls and other strategic points in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu areas, which were badly affected in the 2021 riots.
But there had been no major incidents by mid-morning, Mthiyane said, adding: “We have been on duty all night. We did have people in Inanda Dube Village trying to burn tyres on the road, but we foiled that and they left.”
Sakhile Mngadi, the councillor for ward 33 where the EFF provincial offices are situated, said there had been a strategic police deployment around the area and that all roads remained clear. “The chances of things getting out of hand and looting are currently minimal.”
Municipal services, including refuse collection by Durban Solid Waste, were continuing in the ward despite the protest, Mngadi said.
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) units were deployed overnight in Phoenix to make sure that there was no repeat of the 2021 violence in the area.
Mervyn Govender, spokesperson for the Phoenix Tenants and Residents Association, said the area was “relatively quiet” and no incidents of looting or violence had been reported.
“The army was seen here last night, but otherwise that is it so far,” Govender said.
Employees at the Durban harbour and at the King Shaka International Airport, both of which had been warned to shut down, told the Mail & Guardian that there had been a heavy police and army presence over the weekend and that both facilities were operating as usual.
“The SANDF and the SAPS have been in the port since yesterday,” said a staff member who asked not be named. “There have been no problems reported here and everybody’s working as usual.”
During a morning briefing, provincial police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said “about 10” people had been arrested overnight for blocking roads and refusing to disperse when instructed to.
He said obstructions on the road near Port Shepstone, about 120km south of Durban, had been cleared in the early morning by police. They had also removed burning tyres in the Inanda area, about 30km northwest of Durban’s city centre.
Mkhwanazi said the police would maintain a high presence throughout the day and for the rest of the week to prevent any looting or major disturbances.
South Africa has been on alert since last week ahead of the “national shutdown”, which Malema has touted as the start of a “revolution”.
Security services and the government have been anxious to avoid a repeat of the bungled state response to the 2021 violence, which left more than 400 people dead, most of them looters. It cost the private sector in eThekwini R70 billion, according to the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents 3 000 formal sector and more than 45 000 informal sector members.
Police and local law enforcement officers also maintained a heavy presence in Cape Town, with no major incidents reported by noon, according to mayoral committee member for community safety JP Smith.
An EFF supporter was arrested after a group of 10 protesters intimidated employees at fuel stations in Tableview and Parklands, on Sunday evening.
Police dispersed about 100 protesters in the suburb of Woodstock in the early hours of Monday morning, while several attempts to burn tyres and rubbish in Khayelitsha and Symphony Way in Delft were quickly extinguished.
The windows of two Golden Arrow buses were damaged after they were stoned, while two MyCity buses sustained minor smoke damage after being petrol bombed.
Mandla Hermanus, the provincial spokesperson for the South African National Taxi Council, confirmed that minibus taxi services were “running as per normal, however, we have noticed few[er] passengers for today”. This was partly due to schools being closed on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s public holiday.
In a late night statement issued on Monday, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) said that at least 550 protestors had been arrested for crimes that included “public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and attempted looting”.
Of those arrests, 149 were effected in Gauteng, 95 in the Northern Cape, 80 in the Eastern Cape, and 64 in the Free State.
In the same statement, Natjoints said that 24 300 tyres that had been “strategically placed for acts of criminality” had been confiscated throughout the country.
- This story has been updated with fresh comments from Malema.