ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the EFF wanted an insurrection and to coerce society into rising against the ANC government through violent means.
JOHANNESBURG - Halfway into the Economic Freedom Fighters national shutdown, the African National Congress has described the protest as a big flop, as it applauded law enforcement for its handling of the demonstrations thus far.
Its secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that EFF leader Julius Malema wanted an insurrection and to coerce society into rising against the ANC government through violent means.READ MORE:• Heavy police presence in shutdown proves SA has resources to solve issues - EFFIt is calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down and for an end to load shedding.
Speaking at a briefing in Johannesburg, Cele said that Malema had said that the planned shutdown would be peaceful, but a few incidents of violence had already been reported to the police. He said that Gauteng recorded the most arrests so far, with the Free State following close behind and the Eastern Cape recording the third-highest number of arrests.
"From this, we will go take them and charge them, but they were not peaceful. You interfere with people who go to work, you burn tyres, you block the road you tell the people not to go, you even tramp on the roof of their cars," Cele said.
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