Johannesburg – South African Communist Party leader Solly Mapaila says he will not relent on his party’s calls for President Jacob Zuma to step down, even after his attempted assassination on Monday.
The SACP on Tuesday said that someone pointed a gun at Mapaila during the commemoration event of Chris Hani’s assassination in Boksburg.
The SACP’s second deputy secretary general said he has now hired a bodyguard following the incident.
“Even if they assassinate me and get rid of me we, as the SACP will never retract from our views for Zuma to step down. These on not my own view but that of the party,” said Mapaila.
The South African Communist Party, which is in an alliance with the ANC, has been vocal in its calls for the president to step down and where later joined by another alliance partner Cosatu also calling for Zuma’s head.
The two had issues with the fact that Zuma did not consult them when he took the decision to reshuffle his cabinet and fired a number of ministers including former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.
The party said it would now lay charges with the police and further action would be taken with its alliance partners.
“This is the worst form of political and ideological degeneration and will, if allowed to prevail, completely destroy the ANC-headed political movement. This comes against the backdrop of ongoing systematic murders of SACP members in KwaZulu-Natal,” said the SACP in statement.
The party has vowed to continue with efforts to confront corporate capture within the ranks of the ANC, state corruption, rent-seeking, patronage and abuse of state resources.
“The SACP will not allow anyone, regardless of the methods they resort to, to succeed to silence the voice the party from any angle whatsoever,” said the party.
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