Activists freed after arrest during Cape Town anti-Zuma protest

After spending the night in jail‚ several members of several civic organisations in Cape Town - including Zackie Achmat - were released on Thursday morning.

The organisations‚ under the banner #UniteBehind‚ staged a sit-in on Wednesday at the National Prosecuting Authority's Cape Town office‚ demanding President Jacob Zuma's arrest.

The leaders‚ including SACP Western Cape secretary Benson Ngqentsu‚ appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday charged with trespassing. They were warned to appear in court again on December 5. Jovial SACP members burst into song after the court released the activists.

#UniteBehind have consistently called for Zuma to be recalled. A statement from the movement on Wednesday said: "The most recent revelations of Zuma being bankrolled by Roy Moodley and his corrupt front companies leave us with no choice but to escalate our call to direct action.

"Moodley's corrupt dealings in the Siyangena contract‚ a contract meant to improve the security crisis at Metrorail‚ has directly cost lives.

"When we say #ArrestZuma we mean arrest the president and his keepers. When we say #ArrestUs‚ we mean that we will submit to arrest."