Rats dumped at the feet of Mandela’s statue in Nelson Mandela Square

While many people headed out to assist the needy for 67 minutes on Mandela Day, a group of residents from Alexandra brought 30 rats to the feet of the Nelson Mandela statue at Nelson Mandela Square to protest about their unhealthy living conditions.

President of the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command, Peter Keetse said, “Rats are an issue that the people of Alex have been crying about for a while now. These rats are brutal. They are eating people and I know of three cases where children were being eaten by rats.”

“Mandela stayed in Alex and knew the conditions of the people of Alex, but did nothing to address the issue of land. If there was enough land, the shacks would be more spread out and not affected by these rats. We are so congested. This is social and economic segregation.”

Keetse called Alexandra a concentration camp. He said that the people of Alexandra collected 30 rats overnight and unleashed them at the feet of the statue around 4 pm on 18 July.

“We are not going to be policed on how we celebrate Mandela… We think he compromised South Africa and many struggle heroes died on the battle field. The world must see that this is not the Mandela South Africans need. We need the radical man who went to prison to fight for the people.”

He said that restaurant patrons watched the group surround the statue and sing and were surprised when they released rats, some of which had already died in transit.

“We saw the white people jumping in restaurants and that’s what we want. They must see what we experience. The people of Alex work tirelessly as cheap labour for Sandton. If the people in Nelson Mandela Square can remove those rats there, they must help us with our situation in Alex.”

He said that in Alex, the rats are not only nibbling on children, but also on the food that people work tirelessly to provide for their families.

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