These velcro headed, biped simians reckon this is the way democracy works. And do you for one moment think that the ANC will discourage this behaviour? No way, Jose...rather, statements of this nature demonstrates just how "creative" these people are. Remember this is also that neck of the woods where they still burn witches!
ANC supporters in Ga-Mohokone village, 90km north-east of Polokwane, appealed to ruling party leader Jacob Zuma to warn Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa "Terror" Lekota that they would kill him.
A few hundreds villagers, who were toyi-toying while waiting for President Kgalema Motlanthe to conduct a door-to-door campaign, chanted slogans hailing Zuma.
But one of their slogans was: "Zuma, Terror o a gafa, re tlo fetsa re mmolaile" (Zuma, Terror is mad, we gonna end up killing him).
At the scene, ANC provincial secretary Joe Maswanganyi made no effort to stop the villagers from chanting the inflammatory slogan.
When it was brought to his attention, Maswanganyi commented, that the villagers were being "creative".
ANC national spokesperson Lindiwe Zulu said on Sunday if the ANC received a report about this particular incident, it would investigate.
Zulu said the ANC had set up a centre for complaints at Luthuli House to deal with incidents of political intolerance perpetrated by their members against opposition parties and vice versa.
She said the ANC would be visiting all provinces from next week to assess levels of political tolerance.
Congress of the People spokesperson Sipho Ngwema accused the ANC of failing to control its supporters.
"We know that it is their strategy to plead ignorance to (incidents of) political intolerance. They are preparing to make the climate for the elections not conducive.
"The people of South Africa must judge them for who they are. They have no control of their supporters and members," said Ngwema.
COPE was planning to report all incidents where its activities had been disrupted by the ANC to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), he said, adding that COPE was compiling a list of events to that effect.
"Even in Port Elizabeth (during presidential candidate Mvume Dandala's campaign on Saturday) they followed us in a big truck and they played music loudly.
"It is clear that the ANC is becoming the enemies of peace," Ngwema said.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela urged all parties to exercise restraint and to appeal to their supporters to respect political opponents.
The IEC is to visit Limpopo next week where all parties contesting the elections will sign a provincial code of conduct, Bapela said.
She said the weekend incident at Ga-Mohokone village would be raised with the ANC in Limpopo.
She said the IEC was aware that tempers were going to run high and that campaigning would be robust, but leaders had a responsibility to whip their supporters into line.
"I appeal to political parties that we owe it to the country (to have free and fair elections)," she said, adding that all parties would be signing a national code of conduct on March 11.
SA Human Rights Commission chairman Jody Kollapen said: "I don't think you can stop rank-and-file supporters (from chanting inflammatory slogans).
"The only way you can do it is that the leadership must immediately intervene. If you don't intervene, you give them the impression that kind of conduct is acceptable," said Kollapen. - Political Bureau
1 Opinion(s):
It's so easy to condemn intolerance . But where would the spice of life be in South Africa without it. What would newspapers write about without it ? I know a number of men - myself included who just might be a trifle intolerant should our path happen to cross the one of F.W.DeKlerk or Rolfi Meyer.
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