UPDATED: DA PREMIER'S INSTRUCTIONS TO METRO POLICE

Comrade Marius Fransman, the Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Legislature will be tabling questions to Premier Zille relating to the abuse of state power to frustrate the ANC and settle political scores when the Legislature reopens this year. These questions relate to the allegations that have come to the attention of the ANC which state that Metro Police in Cape Town were instructed to ensure that they arrest NEC members of the ANC and test them for alcohol levels during the ANC 103rd Anniversary Celebrations held over the course of last week in Cape Town.

It is alleged that the Metro Police were further provided with photographs of NEC members of the ANC to ensure they fulfil this instruction and were informed that should anyone refuse to be tested they must be arrested for resisting arrest. Such sinister behaviour is a blatant abuse of state power against political opponents and is yet another indication of the extent the desperate Democratic Alliance will go to tarnish the image of the ANC and its leadership.

The ANC wishes to know from the SAPS  Provincial Commissioner of police if he was aware of such an instruction. We would also wish to know if the National Commissioner of Police was aware of such an instruction since powers of arrest rest with the National Police Services and if such an instruction accompanied with photographs of the NEC of the ANC was given. We are interested to know what the National Commissioner's response was to such an instruction and if she advised the Minister or the Deputy Minister of this.

The ANC would also wish to ask the Premier of the Western Cape herself to provide the public with a copy of the standing orders issued to the Metro Police specifically for the night of 10 January 2015 and if any such instruction was issued in writing or verbally and by whom.  We would also wish to know if these standing instructions included photographs of the ANC NEC and how these were sourced or obtained. The ANC is also aware that Mayoral Committe Member, Mr. J.P. Smith, demanded a briefing on this nefarious mission from police stationed at the VOC every 30 minutes. The ANC wants to find out why the Premier deemed this necessary.

Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC national spokesperson, January 13 2015

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter