WATCH: ‘Anyone who is threatening any form of unrest will be arrested,’ warns Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a warning that any political party threatening violence ahead of or on the day of the national and provincial election on May 29th will face arrest.

Ramaphosa’s warning follows public threats of violence, anarchy, and civil war by loyalists of former president Jacob Zuma, should the IEC block the MK party from contesting the upcoming general elections.

uMkhonto weSizwe party’s KwaZulu-Natal member Visvin Reddy was seen in a video this week seemingly attacking the courts and the IEC.

Watch President Cyril Ramaphosa warning those who are intending violence and unrest

I must make it clear that anyone who is threatening any form of unrest will be arrested. pic.twitter.com/M7v1GISVt0

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) March 7, 2024

Ramaphosa warning

Ramaphosa said government has taken note of the threats of “violence, anarchy and civil war.”

“I just want to make it very clear to anyone who is threatening any form of unrest, they will be followed up and they will be arrested. Those are people who belong in jail. Those are people who are the enemies of our democracy.

“The people of South Africa value this hard-won democracy and they don’t want any form of instability and we’ve always followed the rule of law. When you are dissatisfied with any decision, be it a government decision, the president’s decision and ministers decision, even a courts decision, there are ways in which all those complaints can be followed up,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said those who are making threats “do not belong as part of the South African community that wants stability.”

ALSO READ: WATCH: MK party warns of ‘anarchy and civil war’ if not allowed to contest elections

Civil war

In the video, which has since gone viral, Reddy said that the country would descend into civil war if MK were not allowed to campaign or be on the ballot paper.

“No one will vote and no one in this country will vote. We are sending a loud and clear message that if these courts which are sometimes captured, if they stop MK, there will be anarchy in this country. There will be riots like you never seen in this country, there’ll be no election. No South African will go the polls if MK is not on the ballot paper,” Reddy warned.

Reddy claimed his comments were taken out of context and that the video was edited.

ALSO READ: ‘White people didn’t steal the land… black people must accept defeat’ – Moeletsi Mbeki