Johannesburg: With just three days ahead of the national shutdown and following widespread condemnation of one of the country’s highly anticipated national shutdown protests on Monday, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF), Julius Malema, on Friday urged Soweto residents to join him on the streets on Monday.
An undeterred Malema told the community of Orlando East, Soweto, to respond to the clarion call and not be discouraged by those who are criticising him for agitating for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down.
Malema said the protest is a war against the government, which has shown that it is against progress and the aspirations of ordinary citizens.
He said the government and the security cluster have issued various forms of intimidation and that anyone who provokes those on the picket lines will be met with the same resistance.
"On Monday, a war has been declared against those who are against progress. On Monday, a war has been declared against those who want to perpetuate the suffering and struggles of the black majority in South Africa. I am here to remind you that we have an appointment on Monday."
"We have no money; we have no weapons. We do not have machine guns. We only have the bodies of our African people to put on the picket lines."
"Whether they kill or they do not kill, we will be on the streets of South Africa on Monday. We do not care what the security cluster says. We don’t care what the judges say. No one can stop a revolution. That time has come," Malema told the community of Orlando East.
Malema’s address comes amid criticism from the ANC as well as ministers Bheki Cele, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and others who earlier in the day addressed the media on their perceived concerns about the protest.
Ntshavheni, the Minister in the Presidency, said Malema and his supporters cannot be trusted as they have a history of violence, in spite of the EFF assuring the government and South Africans that the shutdown protest will be peaceful and non-violent.
"The same Julius Malema knows that he can’t be trusted on any word ... we have seen pictures of them brandishing guns. We have seen that they are going to force people to get off work. You cannot, as law enforcement, sit aside while Malema is promising us that there will be order. We must protect South Africans," she said.
Cele, during his multidisciplinary parade on Friday, issued a stern warning for would-be lawbreakers.
"You must uphold the law, but more importantly, enforce it with minimum force. All police vans must be on standby to make sure that anyone who breaks the law is behind bars. Make sure that anyone that breaks the law, the law takes its course," Cele said to his charges.
The Star