Durban — Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) senior member Visvin Reddy has described his arrest as a futile attempt to derail MKP’s march to a two-thirds majority, which he said was unstoppable.
Speaking to party supporters on Wednesday outside the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court, south-west of Durban, a defiant Reddy likened MKP to a tsunami, saying he was not bothered by the charges because no amount of intimidation would stop MKP from taking over the government after the May 29 general elections.
Reddy was charged with inciting violence under Act 17 of 1956 after the threatening comments he made outside the Durban High Court recently, where the MK Party was taken to court over the use of the name uMkhonto weSizwe and its spear and shield logo.
Reddy denied the charges, saying he merely made a warning, given what happened in 2021 when former president Jacob Zuma was jailed.
“The MK Party is a tsunami and no amount of attempts would stop us from taking over the country. The people who arrested us are cowards who are scared of this tsunami. They have now removed president Jacob Zuma from the list. That is unconstitutional because Zuma was not given a fair trial as stipulated in the Constitution, so they are blindly breaking their own Constitution,” Reddy said.
He briefly appeared in court facing one count of inciting public violence under Section 17 of the Riotous Assemblies Act. The case was postponed to June 14. Reddy jokingly said he was not bothered by the charges since by the time he returns to court in June, MKP would be in power.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Reddy appeared in court on summons and the matter was transferred to the Durban Regional Court. She said Reddy was not arrested but was summoned to appear in court and was released on warning.
Among the senior party leaders who came to support Reddy were the provincial head of elections Musa Mkhize, African People First eThekwini councillor Muzi Hlengwa, Roy Moodley and local leaders. Hlengwa announced his party would assist with its votes in passing a resolution to expropriate land without compensation.
Last month, Reddy threatened civil war should his party not make it onto the ballot paper while also demanding the ANC drop its court cases against the MKP. In the video, Reddy said the courts were being used to stop the MK Party.
“If these courts, which are sometimes captured, stop MK then there will be anarchy in this country … There will be riots like you have never seen in this country … There will be no elections… No South African will go to the polls if MK is not on the ballot,” said Reddy.
Reddy, who is also a leader of African Democratic Change (AdeC) and an eThekwini councillor, is most likely to become a Member of Parliament because he is number nine on the MKP list.
He stands a good chance of getting a ministerial position if the MKP does well in the elections.
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