EFF Secretary-General Marshall Dlamini has engaged in negotiations with police over a solution to quell the chaos that has erupted at the Brackenfell High School. Dlamini is attempting to negotiate a passage to go to the school and hand over a memorandum.
EFF members outside the Brackenfell High School in Cape Town have accused police of inciting violence as they gathered outside the premises.
Chaos erupted at the school with police firing water cannon and stun grenades.
[HAPPENING NOW]: The racist police of the Western Cape have again tear-gassed the EFF peaceful protest against racism #EFFInBrackenfell pic.twitter.com/slDPrmlcMu
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 20, 2020
Tensions rose when police said more than the 100 people allowed as per the permit were outside the school. There are estimated to be around 400 to 600 EFF members along with community members in the vicinity of the school.
Apartheid did not end in 1994. They keep showing us their true colors. #EFFInBrackenfell pic.twitter.com/PNNTIuE2Cv
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 20, 2020
In a conversation with members of the police service, Dlamini said they will move peacefully to hand over the memorandum.
“Once we are going to move there peacefully up until to the truck, where we hand over the memorandum. Me and you want to make sure that there’s no alteration because now we agreed that we going to assemble here and your guys started stun grenades and all those things. So with your escort with police, we are going to move all of us to the truck and then we going to address there. Let’s run this thing in a peaceful way so that we can manage our people.”
However, a police official said there was no agreement and they will only allow 100 people that will march to hand over the memorandum.
“That was not the agreement sir and if you are going to go to the school, 100 participants as agreed upon will march from here. There’s not going to be this amount of people that’s here now is not going down there.”
EFF members disagree with police on how the protest will proceed:
The EFF on Friday morning began a peaceful march to the school over allegations that black students were excluded from what was seemingly a private matric farewell party with white students only. The City of Cape Town has granted the party a permit, allowing 100 members to join the demonstration.
Earlier in November, EFF supporters were confronted by parents outside the school, resulting in one arrest. An EFF member said they did not provoke any violence before the police began firing.
Vuyani Pambo addresses EFF supporters marching to Brackenfell High School:
