WATCH | Niehaus warns army might turn on Ramaphosa as Union Buildings are fortified by troops

20 March 2023 - 10:57 By TIMESLIVE VIDEO
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As members of SAPS, Tshwane metro police department and SANDF patrolled the outskirts of the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday , Carl Niehaus, the expelled ANC member and now founding member of the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance, sent President Cyril Ramaphosa a warning.

“Those very security services that you may want to use against the people may turn against you — and be careful, because they may very well be the ones who will come into the Union Buildings, pull you out of your chair, take you down the road to Kgosi Mampuru prison and put you where you belong,” he said.

Niehaus was speaking to the media near the Union Buildings in anticipation of a mass protest which has been planned by the EFF.

“I warn Ramaphosa — be careful, push your security forces, abuse them, try to use them against the people. Remember, this is not 1976. The soldiers and the police of today are in our communities. They are part of our communities. They suffer the same consequences of mismanagement. They suffer also the shutdowns of electricity and no services,” he said.

Meanwhile, EFF’s spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said: “We are still very much impressed with the turnout in terms of people coming out at midnight, which is when the national shutdown began, and all across the country — in East London, in Cape Town, Soweto, Thembisa.

“People are out blocking the roads, marching, ensuring their voices [are heard] about the massive unemployment, the massive gender-based violence, the high rates of crime that this country is confronting.”

However, most of the country has seen no disruptions to work and businesses yet.

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