Cape Town - A DA election motorcade was stoned in Crossroads, while
in Johannesburg stones were hurled at buses transporting DA supporters to a rally on Sunday.
A stone smashed a window of DA supporter Leon Brynard’s 4x4 in Crossroads. No one was injured.
“We just came here to share our message with the people of this area,” Brynard said.
In Gauteng, police spokesman Neville Malila said: “We received a report that two buses were stoned on their way to Kliptown.”
The driver of one of the buses was injured and taken to hospital. No criminal case had been opened. Malila said there was no indication of who had stoned the buses.
DA Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane said the buses were damaged in “ANC ambushes”.
The buses were taking supporters to a DA “We Can Win” concert at Walter Sisulu Square, in Kliptown, Soweto. The ANC was holding a rally at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, about 15km away.
ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman condemned the Crossroads violence.
He accused the DA of ”provocation”.
“The DA must stop harassing ANC members. While we are having a rally with thousands of people, the DA literally drove into this rally. What is the objective? To provoke and create a crisis. We are saying to our members, do not let them provoke anyone.”
DA Western Cape leader Ivan Meyer said “this lack of tolerance by the ANC must come to an end”.
“We call on the ANC leadership to immediately take action against their members and reject this behaviour,” he said.
IEC Western Cape head Courtney Sampson said he had not yet been informed of any incidents.
“Parties report such matters to the police and they investigate,” he said.
In the Crossroads incident, a breakaway group wearing ANC T-shirts shouted insults at the DA motorcade and hurled stones. The group were on their way to the Nyanga Stadium for one of the ANC’s final Siyanqoba rallies.
The police’s Tactical Response Unit blocked off Sithathu Avenue for about 10 minutes as stones littered the road.
ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile tried in vain to call back the breakaway group, saying they needed to “stick to the programme”.
Earlier, the DA’s motorcade had to make a U-turn in Makhosi E Magadlela Street in Gugulethu when it was blockaded by ANC supporters waiting for buses to take them to the Siyanqoba rally.
The tension was quickly defused by ANC leaders.
Supporters of both parties ended up dancing while the DA convoy turned around and drove up a parallel street a block away.
Later, addressing about 4 000 supporters at the Siyanqoba rally, Fransman said he was confident the party would win the Western Cape elections.
Fransman tops the ANC candidate list for the provincial legislature.
His first action as premier would be to balance service delivery between rich and poor communities, he told the Cape Times.
Earlier, rain fell on about 4 000 ANC supporters at the Siyanqoba rally. Mjongile hailed this as “a sign of victory”, telling the crowd: “When we came here this morning it rained.
“In our culture that is a sign of victory.
“It means the ancestors are listening to us.”
Cape Times