PRETORIA – The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has expressed dismay over bold assertions made by AfriForum, indicating that the lobby group has been requested, and is working jointly with the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD).
AfriForum said that it was approached for assistance by MMC for Community Services in the City of Tshwane, Grandi Theunissen, as the City scrambled to contain a protest by municipal workers.
“Further to that, MMC Theunissen stated on 17 March, 2022, acknowledging the support of some vigilante organisations.
“We understand AfriForum as an organisation that mobilises Afrikaans-speaking people, while the majority views this organisation as hostile, anti-black and seeking to reverse gains made since 1994,” said Mpho Tladinyane, Samwu regional secretary.
“Our primary concern is that the City has been holding operational meetings with Afriforum to an extent that Tshwane Metro Police are forced to take instructions from the paramilitary wing of AfriForum with the blessing of senior managers who have been instructed by the administration, in particular Councillor Theunissen, to do so.”
Tladinyane said essentially, the City of Tshwane “has taken a conscious decision to outsource its powers and functions to the paramilitary group which also doubles up as a vigilante group”.
“In their quest to capture the City, the political leadership has been having secret meetings which have since resolved that a certain security company be appointed with the chief of police being tasked with writing motivation for the appointment of the said company,” he said.
“The appointment of this company, which the acting city manager is being pressured to appoint, will cost the City over R230 000 per day.”
The union has called on members of the TMPD to “remain loyal to the oath that they took and refuse any intention to be co-opted in vigilantism”.
“Metro police officers have no obligation to co-operate with this paramilitary group. We further call on the DA-led coalition government to refrain from actions that seek to antagonise workers and residents of the City of Tshwane,” said Tladinyane.
“It is unfortunate that the Executive Mayor, Randall Williams is no longer in charge of the City and has outsourced such to the white cabal. Tshwane Metro Police is also becoming the nest of the said group of white supremacists.”
The Tshwane Metro Police Department was approached for comment on the matter, and it told IOL that it elected not to comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters in Tshwane, led by regional chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu, said the “outsourcing” of policing to AfriForum is illegal.
Afri-forum’s private army has been deployed at COT centurion offices today,by the @CityTshwane MMC of Community safety Grandi Theunissen . During the adjustment budget,the city passed an amount of 250 million “watchman services”,it seems like the private army is paid by the city. pic.twitter.com/ACr7brM6xD
— Obakeng Ramabodu (@RamaboduObakeng) March 17, 2022
“Grandi Theunissen is the MMC in the mayoral committee deployed by the VF Plus in Tshwane. It comes as no surprise that a deployee of the VF Plus to the community safety portfolio will illegally outsource the City’s policing function to a vigilante group which is the AfriForum’s private army,” said Ramabodu.
“It is a well-established fact that VF Plus and AfriForum are one organisation, yearning for the return of the old days of apartheid. These two organisations are perpetuating the false notion of ’swart gevaar’ (black peril) in order to gain relevance and raise funding for their white supremacy project in our country.”
Efforts to get comment from Theunissen were fruitless by the time of publishing as he was said to be in a meeting.
IOL