Fracas unfolds as poster is torn down

Published Jan 17, 2016

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Cape Town - A racially charged protest erupted in the city centre yesterday as ANC supporters tore down most of the controversial Zuma Must Fall billboard on a block of flats at the top of Long Street, then beat up a young man who bystanders heard shouting “Zuma se p**s”.

And the protesters have warned that if the patches of the billboard left behind are not removed by this evening, they will be back to make Cape Town “unpleasant”.

The young man shouted the expletive while ANC Dullah Omar region chairman Xolani Sotashe was speaking.

Within seconds he and some of his friends were fleeing a mob, who turned on them, trying to hide in a small enclosure off Kloof Street.

When they tried to leave, people in the crowd tore off the youngsters’ T-shirts and forced them back inside.

Some shouted: “Come face us monkeys.”

They were referring to a slur, which went viral and made news nationally earlier this month, by KwaZulu-Natal real estate agent Penny Sparrow, who likened black Durban beachgoers to monkeys.

Police were present throughout the clash but did not intervene.

Independent Media did not observe any arrests being made.

It was estimated the giant billboard, erected on Friday, cost R400 000 a month to place.

It sparked an outcry, infuriating some and pleasing others.

However, city officials said they would prosecute the person behind it because it contravened the Building Regulations Act and posed a safety hazard.

When members of the ANC Dullah Omar region arrived to tear it down yesterday afternoon, some were hanging precariously out of windows and from the roof of the multi-storeyed block of flats.

Sotashe addressed the crowd: . “We are going to make sure that even those in the DA, they are being insulted… These white people, racist white people, they are going to continue to use our people against our people.”

Sotashe said he had spoken to someone, possibly the owner of the building or a project manager involved with the billboard.

“We are giving them 24 hours to remove the remainder of the job that we’ve done. If that has not happened, it’s not going to be nice. We are coming back.”

It was while he was speaking that the crowd heard the youngster shout.

Urging police to arrest him, ANC members said:

“He insulted our president. If he were black you’d arrest him.”

But police did not intervene.

Yesterday the controversy surrounding the big black and white sign also heated up on social media.

A Twitter user, with the handle @s1zwe, named the person he thought was behind it as Brent Dyssell, the managing director of Independent Outdoor Media.

S1zwe also tweeted: “The person who put up this sh** has laid charges against me for damaging their poster.”

Police spokeswoman Constable Noloyiso Rwexana said no case had been recorded by police.

But Dyssell said he was not personally behind the billboard and did not know anything about a complaint being lodged.

He said the billboard had been sponsored by “a concerned private initiative”.

“(It) is non-racial and peaceful in every way. From what I understand, it speaks to the very heart of leadership in our country, which, gauging by the overwhelming response on social media in particular, appears to be a countrywide concern at this time.

“This commentary is not about colour, and to focus on that is, as I understand, to miss the point.”

City of Cape Town spokeswoman Priya Reddy said yesterday a prosecutor was dealing with the matter and would decide whether or not those behind the billboard would face action.

- The Sunday Independent

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