Cape Town divided: ‘Maimane is a dog’ and ‘Amnesty se gat - Go straight to jail’

The Cape Town CBD has been split down the middle. ANC supporters chanting President Jacob Zuma’s praises started marching from the Grand Parade. At the same time opposition parties‚ who marched from Keizersgracht Street‚ are calling for his downfall.

The two groups are set to march Parliament. However officials have fenced off the area directly outside the gates of Parliament to separate the two groups. Hundreds of police officers have been deployed to the streets of the Mother City. The ANC supporters‚ dressed the party's colours‚ sang: "Voetsek man‚ f*k*f man‚ leave Msholozi alone.''

The city has granted the ANC's Dullah Omar Region a permit for 10 000 marchers. They started filling into the Grand Parade after 10pm as a van blared Mshini Wam. By 11.30am buses filled with ANC supporters were still streaming into the CBD.

But opposition parties beat them to it. DA supporters in blue had gathered at Keizersgracht parking lot along early morning with EFF‚ Cope‚ Vryheidsfront Plus and UDM comrades for the Fire Zuma March. This group has also been granted permission for 10‚000 marchers.

One protester told TimesLIVE: "I am here to see Zuma off. I saw a great poster saying: ‘The people have come to say goodbye.'…I was here in April for the ZumaMustFall [protest]. I am here today to see that it happens.''

At one stage a group of DA supporters passed ANC members and sang: "These are thieves''.

The ANC supporters retaliated: "Maimane is a dog."

The Fire Zuma protestors brandished hundreds of posters. One read: "Amnesty se gat - Go straight to jail." Another read: "A yes vote for Zuma is a treason.''

However there were virtually no posters among the pro-Zuma group. Instead they were dancing‚ singing and waving a few South African flags.