Members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) have begun blockading roads in Durban, KwaZulu Natal – as they plan to shut down the province on Friday.
At a meeting on Thursday, MKMVA members confirmed their intent to proceed with protest action – citing corruption and crime in the country as some of their main concerns.
Kushubile e Durdan
MKMVA Amandla!!!! ✊✊#FridayMotivation#FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/eyWl61IFw3— saPATRIOT (@radebe_jacob) September 25, 2020
Provincial police spokesperson, Jay Naicker, says police will not hesitate to deal with anyone who is found to be blocking public roads and causing disorder.
“Police in KwaZulu-Natal have taken note of various voice notes circulating on social media indicating that certain groups have met and agreed to work together to protest in Durban and surrounding areas for numerous reasons”
“Police deployment is in place to deal with such a protest and will be beefed up along the identified routes and locations. Several SAPS units will be working jointly with the Durban Metropolitan Police, Road Traffic Inspectorate and other role players. We will not be negotiating with anybody who blocks our roads and such individuals will be dealt with in terms of the law,” explains Naicker.
MKMVA NOW pic.twitter.com/FJ3vsrNPZn
— SandileL (@Sandilelushaba1) September 25, 2020
Meanwhile, the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association in KwaZulu-Natal has distanced itself from Friday’s planned protest action by a group of disgruntled members.
The group says they are dissatisfied with the levels of corruption and unemployment in the country.
MKMVA Secretary in KwaZulu-Natal, Jazzman Mthembu says the PEC was not consulted on the plans to shutdown the province.
“The problem is with this entire planned protest. The comrades never contacted us as the provincial structure. As the PEC, we have no idea what the strike is about and that some of our comrades have planned to shut down the province of KwaZulu-Natal.”
“I assume also that regional leaders were not consulted. That is a huge problem, because I think if the comrades had engaged us, we would have engaged them on other means to voice their concerns, they did not give us that opportunity to engage them.”
In the video below, SABC News reporter Ayanda Mhlongo is giving an update on the protest:
