#PayBackTheMoney march - PICS

Published Feb 10, 2016

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Johannesburg - The SAPS's crowd control measures came under scrutiny when police officers battled to control thousands of EFF supporters outside the Constitutional Court in Joburg on Tuesday.

This was after EFF supporters breached police barricades cordoning off areas reserved for the DA and Cope and marched to the steps of the Constitutional Court building, where the Nkandla matter was being heard.

The police had their hands full trying to keep the crowd back, but to no avail, prompting them to use a Casspir vehicle to cordon off the thoroughfare with razor wire.

EFF commander-in-chief Julius Malema was scathing of the police's inability to control the party’s supporters, saying he had briefed the police officers early on Tuesday on such measures. He said his suggestions were not followed.

“You (police) messed up the whole plan. You don’t know how to control a crowd. Public order policing is about effective crowd control. Now they come and say: Chief, chief, please talk to them (supporters)”, Malema said, urging the women and men in blue not to provoke them.

“We are here to deal with the man who is stealing your money, so maximum co-operation will enable us to have a peaceful gathering,” he said, referring to the millions of rand spent on non-security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla home in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Police spokeswoman Brigadier Mashadi Selepe said: “I won’t confirm or challenge what Malema said. All I can say is that we’re incident free. There were no casualties and we applaud them for their behaviour.”

Earlier, as Malema led his EFF supporters in their march to the court from the Joburg CBD, there was panic in the streets when business people saw a sea of red approaching. Some quickly shut their doors as others struggled with roller doors and heavy chains.

Despite Malema asking EFF supporters to march peacefully, some of them broke away from the main group and ran around brandishing the sticks they had been carrying.

This scared some bystanders, who started running and scattering. At one point on the way to the court, the police asked security guards in a cash-in-transit van to hurry up because the marchers were approaching.

Finding himself swamped by red berets, one of the guards manning the cash van with a gun turned around.

This raised the ire of an EFF marcher walking ahead of the crowd and pushing a man in a wheelchair. “Don’t point the gun at me,” the man shouted, wagging his finger at the guard.

Malema earlier, while addressing EFF supporters at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, dismissed Zuma’s offer to pay back the non-security upgrades costs at his Nkandla home as a “Mickey Mouse deal”.

He questioned why Zuma had, after telling the nation that he used a bond to build his Nkandla home, made his turnabout.

“All we wanted was to get the head of the executive, the president, to be accountable, that’s all we are doing. He (Zuma) offered us some Mickey Mouse deal which we have rejected.

“We said to him we are not accepting your deal. We are saying to the Constitutional Court, please do the right thing. This matter is in the interest of the nation, and therefore, we must bring it to finality,” Malema said.

“People have reported on it and talked about it for far too long now, and it has to come to an end,” Malema said, paying homage to journalist Mandy Rossouw, who died two years ago.

Malema reiterated his threat that Zuma will not have it easy during the State of the Nation Address. “You must see what is going happen on Thursday, watch the TV. The sugar levels are going to get very high,” Malema said to raucous laughter.

He continued his war talk at the Constitutional Court, saying Zuma thought he was “untouchable and could just continue laughing” despite the Nkandla debacle.

Malema vowed that once the court had resolved that Zuma must pay back the money, the EFF would ensure he was removed, the same way Thabo Mbeki was recalled.

“This is an opportunity to correct the mistakes of putting Zuma in power. Thank God we had an opportunity while we were still with the liberation movement,” Malema said.

The Star

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