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#HandsOffZuma: It is 'economic terrorism' to call for Zuma’s early exit

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ANC members march in downtown Johannesburg on Monday (February 5 2017) to call on President Jacob Zuma to step down. Picture: Juniour Khumalo.
ANC members march in downtown Johannesburg on Monday (February 5 2017) to call on President Jacob Zuma to step down. Picture: Juniour Khumalo.

As the pressure intensifies on President Jacob Zuma to step down, tensions seem to have spilled down to the ground of the two distinct centres of power within the ANC’s current leadership structure.

This was demonstrated by two antagonistic marches that took place on Monday outside Luthuli House, one under the banner of the #HandsOffZuma march and the other a #ZumaMustGo protest.

Although only a handful of supporters were present for both protests, the South African Police Service and ANC security had to be called on in two separate occasions to keep the two groups apart.

The more robust #ZumaMustGo protesters held their ground closest to the headquarters of the ANC occupying Sauer Street and Helen Joseph Street in Johannesburg.

The #HandsOffZuma march was pushed further down Helen Joseph Street, where the protesters ended up gathering at the corner of Simmonds and Helen Joseph Street.

They congregated there for a while until eventually dispersing just before noon.

BLF counter revolutionaries

Thabiso Setona – secretary of the Mighty Bhambatha branch ward 62 in the inner city, who was the branch’s delegate at the ANC’s December conference last year – explained: “We are very much behind Cyril Ramaphosa. At the conference a new leadership structure was selected hence we are calling on President Zuma to step down.

“We are here today because we heard that the Black First Land First [BLF] and the Guptas are coming [in reference to the#HandsOffZuma march] so we are here to defend our organisation [the ANC].

“To us, the BLF are enemies, they are counter revolutionary and are not in any position to tell us how to run our organisation. If they have any issue they must go to the Union Buildings in Pretoria where Zuma, who is still the president of the country, sits and not march to Luthuli House where Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of the party, sits. Here [Luthuli House], only ANC members and the alliance partners are welcome, not enemies of the party.”

There was a show of support for Setona’s sentiments as the #ZumaMustGo protesters held placards which read Zuma Must Fall, sang revolutionary songs and danced outside the ANC headquarters.

Setona, together with another man in ANC regalia, later appeared on a video assaulting a woman before running off in the crowd.

The ANC has since distanced itself from his actions and called on law enforcement "to act without fear or favour to bring the perpetrators to book".

ANC spokesperson Khusela Sangoni came out to address the media explaining that: “There is no crisis within the ANC.

“As the ANC we did not receive any formal notification of these marches. We are hoping that whoever is participating in them would have gotten the necessary approval in line with the regulations and laws of our country. The ANC will always protect the right of anybody to demonstrate peacefully and in a disciplined manner. We really do hope that these marches today will do so in a manner that does not undermine their cause regardless of whether it is genuine or not,” said Sangoni.

“We uphold their right to demonstrate … We have not yet received their memorandum. Once we receive it then we will be able to say whether their cause is genuine or not.”

Ramaphosa aligned to white monopoly capital

BLF Deputy President Zanele Lwana confirmed that the BLF “and other progressive black organisations” were part of the #HandsOffZuma marches.

“We wanted to send a clear message to the ANC leadership that they need to stop preoccupying themselves with an illegal coup d’état [in trying to remove President Zuma from power] but they need to deal with more pressing issues such as the land issue. Zuma has started a good thing in creating free education, therefore the party should let him finish what he has started.

“Cyril has time and again proved his alliance with white monopoly capital. A case in point is his involvement and subsequent protection of the white business Lonmin instead of the black mine workers. He is a puppet for white business, therefore any call for Zuma’s early exit to be replaced by Ramaphosa can be equated to economic terrorism.”

Lwana went on to says that it was “absolute rubbish for #ZumaMustGo protesters to think that the ANC can operate as a standalone entity. The ANC is the ruling party. Whatever decision they make affects the entire country. This is why the BLF has proceeded to send the secretary-general of the ANC a Hands Off President Jacob Zuma Memorandum.”

The memorandum has 14 demands that include a request for the ANC leadership to prioritise radical economic transformation, to leave the land that is under traditional leadership, to support and rally behind the creation of a state bank as well as the governing party instituting its own inquiry into media ownership in light ofM ultiChoice’s decision not to renew ANN7’s contract to broadcast on its platform.

Meanwhile, Zuma's fate is set to be decided on Wednesday with the ANC national working committee calling a special national executive committee meeting.

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