Protesters chant and display placards calling for a change in leadership at Africa’s Travel Indaba.
Image: Thobeka Ngema
“Phala Phala Rogue: Step Aside Cyril”, “Cyril Ramaphosa Must Resign”, and “Ramaphosa Must Fall, Resign Now” were some of the placards carried by MK Party members outside the Durban ICC, where Africa’s Travel Indaba is taking place this week.
The members, also dressed in MK Party regalia, sang and danced outside the venue while President Cyril Ramaphosa was still inside.
MK Party eThekwini region task team member, Gcina Dlamini, said the MK Party in KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini region were there to demonstrate to the public and the world at large that they feel “it’s about time that Mr Ramaphosa resign as the president of this country after the groundbreaking Constitutional Court (Concourt) decision.
“We are saying there is no time for Ramaphosa, there is no space for Ramaphosa. It has been proven that the ANC and its president have used their majority to undermine the rule of law in South Africa. Therefore, someone who undermines the rule of law should not be the president of this country.”
Dlamini said the MK Party in the eThekwini region is clear and firm. They do not want Ramaphosa as the president of South Africa, and they are going to do whatever is necessary, as they have put in a motion of no confidence.
MK Party’s Gcina Dlamini says the party calls for Ramaphosa to step down as South Africa’s president.
Image: Thobeka Ngema
“We are confident that Ramaphosa will leave office as soon as possible,” Dlamini stated.
He said Ramaphosa was still speaking during Africa’s Travel Indaba when they arrived. However, they were informed that Ramaphosa was told to “leave and run away”, adding that they do not know what he was running from.
Reacting to Ramaphosa’s address on Monday night, Dlamini described it as the “highest order of undermining the people of South Africa”.
Protest placards highlight key issues as MK Party members demand justice and change in South African politics.
Image: Thobeka Ngema
“Ramaphosa called everyone to sit down and watch him, saying nothing. In fact, he was telling us that he is in charge, he is not going to resign because he is in charge of this country.
“As the MK Party, we want to tell South Africa that Ramaphosa is not in charge of this country. The people of South Africa, the voters of this country, the poor and marginalised of this country, are in charge of this country. What he said yesterday (Monday), we take it as an insult to society.”
MK Party members were also carrying placards written “Illegal Immigrants Must Go” and “Senzo Mchunu Must Be Arrested”.
During his address on Monday night, Ramaphosa announced that he would not resign from office.
He said his legal team advised him that the panel report can be reviewed on several grounds, including grave errors of law and unfounded factual conclusions. He also said resigning would be to pre-empt a constitutional process. It would also give credibility to a report that he believed was fundamentally flawed.
MK Party members rally outside the Durban ICC, demanding President Ramaphosa’s resignation.
Image: Thobeka Ngema
This, after National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza announced six procedural steps to formally enforce the court order and establish the Impeachment Committee.
The Concourt recently ruled that the 2022 parliamentary vote that rejected the Independent Panel report was irrational and unconstitutional. This decision, handed down on Friday, found that Parliament acted unconstitutionally in December 2022 when the ANC used its majority to block the formation of an Impeachment Committee.
The vote in question was 214 against the report to 148 in favour. Consequently, the court has ordered that the Section 89 Independent Panel report must now be referred directly to an Impeachment Committee.