Protesters blocked roads in Cape Town early yesterday as pressure groups Cape Coloured Congress and Gatvol Capetonian came out to air their grievances.
The organisers said the protest was to express frustration at what they described as the marginalisation and victimisation of the Western Cape’s coloured population. Activist Fadiel Adams listed a string of allegations to explain their actions: ‘We will be shutting down [the city] because of the lack of opportunity for coloured people. We will be shutting down because they are victimising our teachers.’
Police reported burning tyres and barricaded roads in about 10 areas in the city, some of which were reportedly a continuation of land invasion protests.
Gatvol Capetonian, some of whose members were arrested, later called off the protest, saying they had had succeeded in their efforts to raise awareness of the plight of backyard dwellers.
Earlier, Adams said the African National Congress did not want to deal with gangsterism and the drug trade. He also criticised Cape Town mayoral committee member JP Smith, who, he said, ‘should’ve been fired about what they did in Hout Bay’ (sic) – an apparent reference to the demolition of illegal structures in June.
‘We are full and active citizens of this country, we are the original owners of this province, you will learn that on Monday,’ Adams said in advance of the protest.
He pledged that the demonstrations would be peaceful.
Smith said that the City would not tolerate lawlessness. The City respected the right to protest, but not if it prevented people from getting to work, or denied access to emergency vehicles, ‘especially if you haven’t bothered to go through the process in the regulations’ (of seeking permission to protest).