Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) must stop being "white peoples’ zombies”, Freedom Park organiser Thabang Makhele, said on Monday, stating that they wanted land.
Makhele said they are no longer interested in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses but want land.
“What is the DA saying about land, we want our land, [DA leader] Mmusi Maimane and [Johannesburg mayor] Herman Mashaba must stop being white peoples’ zombies.”
A handful of protesters from Freedom Park handed over a memorandum stating their grievances to Babylon Xeketwana‚ an official in the office of the deputy secretary of the African National Congress (ANC).
“We heard your cries, we will hand over the memorandum,” Xeketwana said receiving the memorandum.
@AfriNewsAgency These are landless residents of Freedom Park. They are marching to Luthuli House today to demand land from the ANC pic.twitter.com/co2MSe49NV
— Sphelele (@SpheDludla) March 20, 2017
The other demands included the right to occupy land and erect their structures for as long as there was a back log of decent housing for all; the right not to be evicted or moved other places where they do not wish to live; the closing down of all municipal anti-land invasion units; and they demanded to occupy the land that they have identified as the voters in this country.
The also demanded that the ANC government must protect them from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and public order police.
Makhele said they give the ANC five days to respond to their memorandum, and if the ruling party does not respond, they would come back next Tuesday.
Two years ago, Freedom Park residents accused local government of rampant corruption relating to a multi-million rand housing development and marched to the local civic centre to deliver a memorandum of grievances to Gauteng Department of Human Settlements.