A show of force to send one message, Malema tells Union Buildings marchers
12 April 2017
Pretoria - The march to the Union Buildings was a show of force by all opposition parties and South Africans to show President Jacob Zuma he was no longer a credible leader, EFF leader Julius Malema said on Wednesday.
"Zuma must leave office and the sooner the better, because this country must recover economically," Malema told thousands of people in Pretoria's Church Square.
"So, because we love South Africa, today we are going to march hand in hand with all political parties. We want you to send one message and one message only, that Zuma must step down."
He urged the crowd to exercise "maximum discipline" and not to engage in any illegal activity which would detract from the message the parties wanted to send.
"Let the message be clear today that Zuma is no longer a credible president of South Africa," he told a cheering crowd.
The large crowd made its way to the Union Buildings just after 12:00, where a stage was set up on the lawns. The streets of Pretoria were flooded with red and blue. Leaders of various parties linked arms and led the march.
Earlier, EFF general secretary Godrich Gardee told reporters that no memorandum would be handed over.
"We are not going to the Union Buildings to offer them any memorandum, we do not recognise them in that office."
The march was not necessarily aiming at toppling the governing party, but at ensuring that Zuma was removed as president."Political parties across all spectrums, ideological differences, policy differences, political differences have set everything aside and said 'South Africa first, Zuma must go'. It's not about the ANC. The ANC was elected democratically.
"It is not about taking over the power. We will remove the power in 2019 through the ballot system but at least for now, that individual must leave. The thief must go," Gardee said.
Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota said the march was bigger than Zuma. They hoped it would force ANC MPs to ask themselves what was more important: Zuma or the people of SA.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng leader John Moodey told the crowd: "Wherever you are Mr Zuma, you must be shaking because in a few days' time, you are gone. In a few days' time you are history."
He said, just as the DA had joined the Save SA march on April 7, the party would continue to march until Zuma eventually stepped down.
"We will continue to go until Jacob Zuma and his ANC come tumbling down," Moodey said.
Agang, the IFP and the ACDP also joined the march.
Acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane said that protesters "must behave".
"While people are exercising their rights to march and express themselves, they must do so peacefully and not get tempted to do anything irresponsible or unlawful."
