Cape Town – All eyes will be on Brackenfell High School this morning as EFF protesters march on the area in a show of force after their earlier protest against alleged racism at the school descended into chaos and violence.
Classes at the school will continue as normal, but exams have been cancelled for today.
The school’s governing body said the school would be following the directive from the Western Cape Education Department, and had only made the exception to change its exam schedule.
Chairperson Guillaume Smith said while they would have preferred not to have postponed exams, they had done so in an effort to protect and safeguard pupils, who would not have been able to focus.
“The school is in no way malicious nor does it have an ill intent towards anyone. Our priority has always been the well-being of all our learners. While the situation we find ourselves in is an unfortunate emotional one, we are grateful that both our learners and staff have been handling it well.
“We are pleading with everyone to consider that no issue can ever be resolved by shouting profanities and being violent,” said Smith.
Despite calls for residents to refrain from attending the protest, The Cape Party has called on residents to show up in their numbers against the EFF today.
Brackenfell residents confront #EFF members who are trying to set up mobile toilet ahead of their planned protest at the high school. Video: @PoswaGrant /@AfriNewsAgency #brackenfellhigh pic.twitter.com/pTNWLoCM2z
— IOL News (@IOL) November 20, 2020
Freedom Front Plus Chief Whip and provincial leader Corne Mulder has also condemned the move by EFF to continue with their protest this morning, saying the EFF’s planned protest demonstrated utter disrespect for the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens who do not want to associate themselves with it.
“It is alarming that the EFF has already threatened by means of an official party tweet to ’bring Brackenfell to a standstill’ and to ’ensure that nothing operates’ and that they will take action against anyone who stands in their way.
“The FF Plus will monitor the situation to see whether the police will enforce the court order. If more than a hundred people show up to protest, the police must ensure that the protest action does not take place.
“Confrontation is exactly what they want. Without it, they are left deflated. The FF Plus will ensure that the court order is enforced and will lodge complaints if it is not,” said Mulder.
Cape Argus