By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The EFF in Gauteng says it will picket outside various police stations and courts in the province to demand the release of protesters detained during the party’s shutdown.
EFF supporters took to the streets on Monday to protest against load shedding and call for the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In its latest update on Tuesday night, the NatJOINTS said it had arrested more than 550 protesters for public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and attempted looting, among others.
Gauteng recorded the highest number of arrests with 149, the Northern Cape recorded the second highest number with 95 arrests, the Eastern Cape also saw 80 protesters arrested, followed by Free State with 64 arrests.
“The EFF have, since the first hour of the national shutdown until now, been attending to cases of arrest in relation to the occasion,” says the party’s Gauteng spokesperson Dumisani Baleni.
“We are observant of the brutality meted against citizens by the police and private security, moreover the unrecorded wrongful arrests, abuses and release of those who were apprehended by the law enforcement.
“This is an abuse of power by the state in an attempt to further intimidate citizens from holding the government accountable through demonstrations.”
Baleni says they believe the arrests were made in order to justify the government’s wasteful expenditure by deploying police and the SANDF.
“The continued arrest of peaceful demonstrators and their denial of the opportunity to apply for police bail lays bare the way in which the state is ready to infringe and trump upon the fundamental right to freedom of expression, especially on views that criticize and expose the state and corrupt politicians.”
The EFF have consistently failed to break the 11% threshold. They achieved 10.8% in the 2019 national election and 10.6% in the 2021 local elections.