Minimal reports of violence at EFF’s national shutdown protest

The Economic Freedom Fighters national shutdown across the country has gone by with few disruptions and minimal reports of violence.

Scores of party members marched from the church square in the CBD to the official residence of the president, Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Arcadia where they demanded that he step down.

The party has been protesting across the country as part of its national shutdown over load shedding, gender-based-violence and the state of affairs in the country among others.

Addressing party members outside the presidential guest house under the surveillance of a large police contingent, EFF leader, Julius Malema encouraged the public to hold President Ramaphosa accountable.

“Comrades, a president is not a king. A president is an elected public representative like me, he must be held accountable. You are not doing anything wrong here today. You came to your house, this is your house. This house is paid for with our tax money, we are the taxpayers. So, you must never feel bad that you are here to demand this guy to leave because we feed him.”

In the Western Cape, hundreds of EFF members marched to Parliament as part of the party’s national shutdown. It’s Student Command from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology joined the protest.

Sikelela Msizawe of the student command says the march was peaceful..

“What the police had done earlier on did not come as a shock to us. And ours is still that the commander in chief has told us that the protest must be peaceful. We must embark on a peaceful protest. But of course, as the commander in chief has said we are going to respond as the treatment we are receiving on the ground. So, if it comes to push we are going to push it, but of course, we are hoping that the protest is going to continue peacefully.”

“There are so many challenges we’re facing here in South Africa. As you can see, most of these people are students, they’re struggling and they don’t know where to go when they finish their degrees. There’s no jobs. I have seven years having completed my degree and I’m not working even now. There’s a lot of poverty here in South Africa.”