Protests have lost much steam as a weapon of struggle

Under apartheid, mass protests and stayaways formed part of an important pillar of the struggle aimed at unseating brutal and an unpopular minority government of the country.

While we have lately seen numerous worker and community protests – a right enshrined in our constitution – since the country’s 1994 democratic breakthrough, demonstrations have lost much steam as a weapon of struggle.

To drive their message to authorities, it has become a common feature for those behind protests to resort to an unorthodox and dangerous approach – burning tyres, radical talk, blocking of roads with boulders, looting, petrol bombing public facilities and sporadic stoning of vehicles. This, underlining a form of desperation in grabbing attention and headlines.

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While Monday’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) “shutdown”, which led to the closing of some businesses, went largely peacefully, it is concerning that those behind the campaign failed to take responsibility for the violent and sporadic actions of foot soldiers, with more than 550 people reportedly arrested.

What has the blocking of entrances to stores and the stoning of buses got to do with EFF call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down for failing to end load shedding?

While we have all experienced the impact of blackouts, violence deserved nothing less than outright condemnation and arrests. The growing culture of violence being synonymous with protests is what should be rooted out of our political DNA.

Former City of Ekurhuleni MMC for infrastructure Ndzipo Khalipa has made a lot of sense in his analysis of the root of violent protests – tracing the phenomenon to the 1985 call by the ANC of “rendering the country ungovernable”.

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“When the democratic administration assumed power after 1994, there was no opportunity to deal with campaigns, which involved vigilantism and ungovernability,” said Khalipa.

“In townships, it has now become so easy to mobilise people, because you use resources to form vigilante groups.”

Khalipa is an advocate for government to come up with a clear programme in dealing with thuggery and vigilantism among communities.

“Vigilantism is now hurting infrastructure – like schools in the townships. Municipal buildings are a target of thuggery,” said Khalipa.

No-one is against any form of peaceful protest to back legitimate demands and grievances of communities and workers.

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There was nothing wrong in the EFF having expressed anger at the continued load shedding. There was everything wrong with a call for a shutdown of the economy accompanied by sporadic acts of violence, which brought into question the ability of EFF leaders to rein in supporters gone rogue.

South Africa is still reeling from the impact of the July 2021 unrest – a sporadic wave of lawlessness and theft of goods in some major stores and mass looting disguised as having been sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.

Until party leaders take full responsibility for supporters who have gone out of line, can our democratic processes like protests take us forward?