'Zille must ask other animals for votes, not us monkeys'

11 February 2016

Cape Town - Western Cape Premier and former DA leader Helen Zille should not bother asking black people to vote for her party, members of the Ses'khona People's Rights Movement said on Thursday.

"Zille must ask other animals for votes, not us, who the white people call monkeys," one Ses'khona protester said.

The group had gathered in Keizergracht Street in Cape Town on Thursday for its march against racism in the city. President Jacob Zuma would be delivering his State of the Nation Address at nearby Parliament later on Thursday. 

Earlier the group's spokesperson, Sulyman Stellenboom, had referred to Zille as a "germ from Germany".

He said that, as the mother of the city, Zille was not delivering.

"She is not welcome here. She must go back where she came from."

There was a high police presence in the CBD from the morning when protesters arrived in busloads.

A scuffle broke out earlier between the group and another group of students representing the #RhodesMustFall campaign. Students, accused of being members of the Pan African Congress of Azania (PAC), nearly came to blows with the hundreds of Ses'khona protesters.

The students had been joined by members of the PAC, who called the ANC members of Ses'khona "bullies".

One Ses'khona member was heard telling the group: "Low-lifes like you don't intimidate the ANC."

Less than 30 students stood their ground, continuing to sing as Ses'khona marshals separated the groups. The students were also involved in a face-off with police.

The #RhodesMustFall group, which appeared not to have authorisation to protest, was escorted by police to the #ZumaMustFall protest in the CBD, where they said they wanted to be.

Ses'khona members handed a memorandum over to the office of the Public Protector in the city. The march was then called off by the group's convenor, Loyiso Nkohla, who said they did not want to cause chaos. This did not meet with the approval of all the protesters.

The group dispersed, but a large contingent was seen walking down the street towards the parliamentary precinct.

When asked where they were going, protesters said they were "just" going to Parliament.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.