Johannesburg -
The SACP condemned the deployment of controversial security force “the Red Ants” to the troubled Bekkersdal region on Saturday, during the last voter registration weekend.
“We are deeply shocked by the deliberate deployment of the Red Ants, given their inhumane track record and profile of treating working class and poor people with disdain and contempt,” SA Communist Party Gauteng spokesman Lucian Segami said in a statement.
The SABC reported that “scores” of people were injured when residents clashed with the Red Ants in Bekkersdal, on the West Rand, on Saturday.
There were also reports that some voter registration stations had been disrupted in the area.
Police, the Independent Electoral Commission and the Westonaria Local Municipality could not immediately comment on the reports.
Segami called on Bekkersdal community leaders and residents not to be provoked, and questioned who was responsible for deploying the Red Ants.
“The SACP demands an urgent investigation of those who authorised the deployment of the Red Ants and for such people to be held responsible for this deliberate provocative act and for the violence that broke out in Bekkersdal.”
Bekkersdal has been the site of protests over service delivery and other issues since last year, resulting in damage amounting to around R11.2 million. - Sapa