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Last Updated: Nov 17, 2008 - 8:06:14 AM |
Julius Malema, the President of the ANC Youth League, has accused
Mbhazima Shilowa, the leader of COPE, of neglecting to maintain his
child. And he denigrated the former Gauteng premier as "just a security
guard".
"They accused us of not being educated, of not being people of moral
standing in the society, but Shilowa's profession is just a security
guard. He is refusing to support his own child. How can a man who
cannot support his own child support the whole nation?" Malema asked
while addressing students at the University of Limpopo on Friday.
Shilowa worked as a security guard at The Star in Johannesburg and rose
through the trade union ranks. He was dragged into court in a paternity
battle by a man later proved to be his son.
Shilowa said that after the court ruling he paid maintenance "without
fail". He said his job as a security guard proved that he was a son of
working people, and he would not stoop to Malema's level.
As the war of words raged, a Free State mayoress and ANC supporters
forcibly occupied a hall that had been booked by the COPE leadership
for a meeting.
Mathabo Mokapo-Leeto, the mayoress of Matjabeng, told the crowd in
Sesotho: "I am the mayor. I can occupy any space in all of the
municipal properties any time, anywhere, however I wish or like."
COPE organisers had booked the Phomolong community hall for their
meeting, which was due to start at 3pm on Friday - but ANC supporters,
many wearing yellow Zuma T-shirts, were bused in during the morning and
occupied the venue.
By the time the meeting was due to start, ANC supporters had lined the
street outside the hall. But when a member of COPE's interim leadership
showed the police a receipt proving that the hall had been booked by
the soon-to-be-launched party, the police ordered the ANC supporters to
leave.
An eyewitness said the mayor then drove up and down the street in a
vehicle on which a public-address system had been mounted, saying: "Do
not listen to Lekota's and Shilowa's people - they only want power
because they were not elected at Polokwane."
The meeting went ahead with main speakers Anele Mda, the COPE interim
youth leader, and Willie Madisha, the former Cosatu president and
COPE's labour convener.
The incident is the latest in a series of clashes and near
confrontations between ANC supporters and COPE, the breakaway movement
led by Shilowa and Terror Lekota, the former ANC chairman and defence
minister.
On Thursday, in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, Lekota had to abandon his
attempts to speak at a meeting after it was disrupted by ANC supporters
who hurled chairs, and allegedly threatened and assaulted COPE
supporters.
The violent disruption of the meeting has sparked fears that some
places could become "no-go areas" in a grim reminder of the 1980s and
1990s conflict between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party in the
province.
Lekota also had to abandon a meeting with businessmen in Welkom on
Friday because of fears of disruption by ANC supporters.
Ruling party supporters gathered noisily outside another Cope meeting,
in Heidedal, near Bloemfontein, on Thursday.
On Saturday, Lekota lashed out at ANC leaders, including Senzo Mchunu,
the party's KwaZulu-Natal chairman, for "instigating ANC supporters to
violently disrupt our meetings".
"The ANC leadership now takes it for granted that they are the only
political player on the South African political plane. They alone may
criticise and silence other political parties. The present leadership
of the ANC does not accept that, in a democracy, all [parties] enjoy
equal opportunity to canvas their policies with all members of
society," said Lekota.
Mchunu said this week that Lekota was "urinating" on the ANC by
criticising it, and was provoking ordinary members to defend the party.
Lekota said the ANC leadership did not respect the right of voters to
listen to all political parties.
"They think they own voters that previously voted for them like their
property. But in a democracy voters are free and must be allowed to
change their views if a party they supported fails to satisfy them,
such as the ANC now is failing them.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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