Eight people have been arrested at Brackenfell in Cape Town’s northern suburbs on charges of public violence after chaos broke as hundreds of EFF supporters protested against alleged racism at the Brackenfell High School.
Police used teargas, stun grenades and a water cannon to control hundreds of EFF supporters. The party had earlier secured a permit from the City of Cape Town for 100 people to protest.
This white man went to provoke the EFF and the EFF defended itself…#RunRacistRun #EFFInBrackenfell pic.twitter.com/MRTegtDPvC
— EFF_Western Cape (@EFFWesternCape_) November 20, 2020
[WARNING: LANGUAGE] Chaos erupts at Brackenfell High School as EFF marches:
Police spokesperson, FC Van Wyk says one member of the public was injured when he tried to disrupt the protest. He was arrested on a charge of incitement.
“As the protesters dispersed they were throwing stones at all Law Enforcement agencies as well as businesses. Several SAPS, Law Enforcement vehicles, windows of businesses as well as private vehicles were damaged. The crowd has since dispersed and the situation in the area is still being monitored. Our forces will remain in the area until we are satisfied that the situation has stabilised.”
[MUST WATCH]: Secretary General @DlaminiMarshall asked the SAPS to be useful for once and go find that arrogant thug who took our beret.
We want our beret. #EFFInBrackenfell pic.twitter.com/0hta11P56Y
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 20, 2020
Industrial area torched
Earlier, fields near the industrial area in Brackenfell in Cape Town were set alight and the windows of the local Post Office damaged following the protest. Police used water tankers to put out the fire. Residents from the area also used buckets of water to douse flames in the fields.
Protests at the school have been ongoing following reports of a whites-only matric party that was held at a private venue.
Chaos erupts at the Brackenfell High School:
The Human Rights Commission condemned the chaos in Brackenfell. Commissioner, Chris Nissen, said the EFF’s leadership should have done more to avoid the clashes with police.
“You can clearly see there was no adherence to the permit and the police have negotiated with them and hence they were saying 500, but at the point where they cut off the 500, people started throwing stones and police had to retaliate with water cannons and teargas; which is unfortunate because protests have to be peaceful, and that was part of the conditions of the permit. We call upon the leadership of the eff to think about these things.”
