Bayanda Hlongwane|Published
ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango has defended Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and the March and March movement amid controversy surrounding the recent unrest in the Durban CBD.
The issue arose during the eThekwini mayoral debate hosted by Independent Media (IOL) in Durban on Wednesday. The debate spawned a heated exchange when Asad Gaffar of the eThekwini Ratepayers Political Movement (ERPM) questioned ActionSA and MK Party's support for March and March following the unrest in the Durban CBD.
Gaffar argued that ActionSA and MKP leadership should have engaged with March and March to find a resolution rather than allowing tensions to escalate. He said the solution lay in bringing the parties together to resolve the matter rather than allowing disruptions and violence to continue.
Responding to the criticism, Mncwango rejected claims that March and March was responsible for the unrest, saying the movement was on Moore Road when the violence occurred in the CBD.
Violent anti-immigration and public safety protests resulted in the torching of vehicles, looting of foreign-owned shops, and a heavy police and military deployment in the city in the wake of the incident.
“It's incorrect to blame March and March. March and March was in Moore Road, police confirm that. The unrest started with the people who were coming from the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) march, on their way to join March and March on Moore Road,” he said.
March organisers responsible for violence
Mncwango maintained it was unfair to hold March and March responsible for the unrest, adding that Ngobese-Zuma had consistently spoken out against violence and called for marches to remain peaceful. He said the IFP should be held accountable for organising the GBV march.
However, IFP representative Selvan Govender challenged Mncwango's position, questioning whether ActionSA believed that political parties organising marches should bear no responsibility for violence that occurs during or after such demonstrations.
“Are you saying that all the violence that we have seen in the city during and after those marches, March and March is not responsible? If you don't have a march, there's no violence. When you have a march, people are being beaten up, buildings are being burnt, and shops are being looted,” Govender said.
IOL News