Johannesburg - The EFF is the latest political party to join global solidarity protests for the #BlackLivesMatter movement as its leader Julius Malema leads a protest outside the USA embassy.
The EFF called on supporters to join the protest and kneel for 8 minutes and 46 seconds "as part of the call for justice".
The #BlackLivesMatter movement started in the USA two weeks ago following the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer. The protests quickly spread throughout the USA and around the world where various solidarity protests were held in major cities such as London.
The protests aim to highlight the injustices against black people by individuals who perpetuate systemic racism through white supremacy and police brutality.
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) June 8, 2020
Last week Friday, the ANC and its alliance partners launched its anti-racism campaign which it said was created to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
The party said it was concerned about the heavy-handedness of security forces against black people.
But the party's support for the movement was widely criticised because of the government's handling of the death of an Alexandra man who died following an altercation with soldiers and JMPD officers at his home in April.
Collins Khosa's family insists that his death was the result of the extreme force used by the soldiers and JMPD officers. But an inquiry conducted by the SANDF cleared the men for any wrongdoing. A criminal case is still pending.
Questions have been raised as to why the ANC would be so outspoken on #BlackLivesMatter but failed to do so at home.
On Friday, during the launch of the campaign, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Khosa's death and that of 10 other people who died at the hands of police officers during the Covid-19 lockdown was a deep regret.
He said this was because he had made it clear as he called for a lockdown of the country to deal with the spread of the virus, that soldiers and police officers should treat citizens with caution, protect and not harm them.