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Nick Pawson and Matthew Le Cordeur, News24
A peaceful protest outside the Gupta compound in Saxonwold, Johannesburg turned into a heated exchange on Tuesday morning when a security guard allegedly intimidated one of the protest supporters - who is a DA member in Ekurhuleni.
The incident happened at 10h00 on Tuesday, after a small group of citizens continued with a peaceful protest outside the Gupta family compound.
"I was made aware of this lone protest by a small group of brave women, so I decided to drive past and give some moral support," DA caucus member Ghaleb Cachalia - who was a mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni in 2016 - told News24.
"I parked my car, got out and greeted one of protesters, whom I knew. Cars were coming in and out of the residence, including a big black Range Rover.
"I noticed one of the guards glaring at us, so I decided to go over and greet him and diffuse the tension. After saying 'good morning, how are you?', he told me not to come any further, and reached around for his firearm."
Watch the video above to see what transpired.
One of the protesters, who shot the video and wished to remain anonymous, said that the Gupta security guards have been using intimidation tactics with them as well.
"We started our protest yesterday morning and these guards have been taking our photos, our car registrations...ordering us to move to the other side of the road," she said.
When asked what the group were protesting, she said they were "concerned citizens" over the reports of state capture, in the wake of President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet reshuffle, and were carrying placards that say 'No to state capture', 'No to nuclear' and 'Putin - Guptas - Zuma - Nuclear'.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that the Guptas had employed additional private security at their family residence in the wake of Zuma's Cabinet reshuffle last Friday, and growing public concern around the President's alleged ties to the Gupta family.
