By Anita Dangazele
- MK supporters marched to the Eastern Cape police headquarters in Zwelitsha to show support for Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s stand against political interference.
- A similar protest in Gauteng drew only 300 people, raising questions about the MK Party’s strength outside KwaZulu-Natal.
Supporters of the MK Party took to the streets of Qonce in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday as part of a national campaign to back KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
The group marched from Victoria Mxenge Grounds to the provincial police headquarters in Zwelitsha, where they handed over a petition. Their banners called for action against those accused of sabotaging efforts to investigate political killings.
While Wednesday’s protest in Qonce was calm and focused, the turnout was relatively small. Still, the party said it was an important step in a bigger campaign.
The protest followed Mkhwanazi’s public statement last week, accusing Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering in sensitive investigations and disbanding a key task team. That team had been investigating the killings of whistleblowers and councillors in KwaZulu-Natal.
MK Party Buffalo City Metro coordinator Mzwandile Vaaiboom praised Mkhwanazi’s courage and urged other police officers to follow his example. He said police are fully capable of investigating political killings, and called the newly announced commission of inquiry a waste of time and money.
“When a case is opened and something else is done on the side without extra resources, it becomes a problem,” said Vaaiboom.
Last week the MK Party laid criminal charges against Mchunu and Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya. On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on special leave and appointed Professor Firoz Cachalia as acting minister. He also launched a judicial inquiry, headed by acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
But the challenge of building momentum outside KwaZulu-Natal remains clear. On Tuesday, the MK Party’s march in Johannesburg, sold as a shutdown protest, attracted just 300 people. That protest was expected to be a major show of strength ahead of Friday’s planned march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, but instead showed the party’s struggle to establish itself in provinces like Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
Pictured above: KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Image source: File
This article was updated at 9am on Thursday 17 July.