Pretoria - Influential leaders should not be allowed to make reckless statements, promote division and use violence, the DA has said.
In this regard, the DA laid charges of incitement of violence with the SAPS against the ANC Youth League in Tshwane.
The decision followed a video posted by ANC Youth League regional leader and City councillor Lesego Makhubela on Facebook in which he called for a total shutdown of the city on January 26.
Abel Tau, DA regional chairperson, said that in the video Makhubela could be heard praising the use of petrol bombs during the shutdown. Actions such as these were all part of the ANC’s efforts to make the City of Tshwane ungovernable, he said.
“Makhubela’s comments are dangerous and in direct contravention to the constitution which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression which does not extend to, among others, incitement of imminent violence.”
Tau said their own disagreements engulfed the city in violence, so one could only imagine what should happen if they call on people to attack the DA.
Tau said the DA would hand the video clips to the SAPS and request them to immediately charge Makhubela with hate speech and incitement to violence.
“A call for petrol bombs and the use of violence goes against the struggle for democracy, which sought to protect all citizens from this sort of violent persecution,” he added.
Tau said that since the DA won control of the City, it had worked hard to bring real and significant change, even while the ANC was trying to undermine progress made.
“It’s clear the ANC only cares about feeding itself and not about serving the people.
“The DA-led administration is undoing ANC corruption.
"It will not be intimidated by threats of violence,” Tau said.
Makhubela, however, rejeced the allegations against him, saying the ANC would not destroy the things they helped to build.
He said the ANC had, from the beginning, voiced that the demonstrations it was organising were in fact peaceful.
He said: “We won’t be deterred or intimidated by the DA’s actions. We are standing up for the voiceless who have been retrenched or taken out of work since their take over.”
Makhubela said that in the run-up to the municipal elections in 2016 the DA had promised the people jobs. He said the DA preferred candidates who supported the party.
“They are trying to lull us into submission and trying to turn black people against each other by replacing them with the DA volunteers, but it won’t work,” he said.
With regards to statements made on social media platforms regarding petrol bombs, Makhubela said the utterances were used to welcome the party’s secretary-general who had just arrived at the roadshow.
He said: “We often use nicknames such as 'spitfire' or 'petrol bomb', as was the case in this particular instance, when referring to each other.”
Tau said accusations of the DA hiring people in support of the party were false as the only system being used was more like an independent lottery process which randomly picked volunteers. “Our database doesn’t ask for party affiliation and the ANC knows it but they continue trying to inflate people’s emotions.
“The Expanded Public Works Programme has always been a fixed term work opportunity meant to transfer skills and not a permanent thing. And he knows it,” Tau said.
He added that the DA-led administration would continue to play open cards with the residents of the city despite the challenges faced.