A sea of red, an EFF three-piece suit and crop top T-shirts: This is how the 'red tide' descended on Eskom

Innesfree Park in Sandton was a sea of red as members of the EFF assembled from early Friday morning to march to Eskom's Megawatt Park in Sunninghill to express their dissatisfaction with load-shedding and the privatisation of the parastatal.

By later that afternoon, not even ferocious downpours could stop what was dubbed “The Red Tide”.

Busloads of people, adorned in red party regalia, flooded the park as they waited for the opening address from their party leader — a speech that would kick-start the march.

Members of the red brigade arrived event-ready, with some fighters stealing the show with their style and fashion sense.

Mosotho Mokoena was the stunner of the day with his EFF logo-inspired three-piece suit. He shared with TimesLIVE his impressive resume of being a poet, motivator, actor, comedian and, above all, fashion designer.

“I am like this always,” he said, with exaggerated hand gestures, prompting observers to admire his outfit.

When Mokoena walked past, heads turned. His eye-grabbing outfit seemed to delight his comrades. The bounce in his step was made grander by his shoes, also bejewelled with the party’s emblem.

About a metre or two away from where Mokoena paraded his outfit was a group of youngsters, in their late teens or at most early 20s. Unlike ordinary supporters, with their standard membership T-shirt worn as intended, the girls had theirs cropped above their belly button and tied back in a hip style.

When asked why they were there, they said that they were against load-shedding because it affected their schooling.

“When the lights go off, we can’t even iron our uniforms in the morning, and we are forced to bath in cold water. Sometimes we go to school without bathing,” said Noluntu Vato, 19, and Amanda Mthembu, 20.

“Our learning is delayed because when there is no electricity at school we can’t use the smart boards and the computer labs don’t work.”

Behind the energetic teens under the shadow of a tree was a group of young men huddled around a cooler box.

They could be seen consuming liquid from green and brown bottles wrapped in yellow plastic bags.

Calling themselves the “biggest mobilisers in SA politics” the EFF leaders led the march with a planned ‘sit-down’ at Grayston Drive, Sandton.

About three hours into the march, the weather turned but the fighters continued walking despite the rain.

A memorandum was expected to be handed over later on Friday afternoon.