In this regard, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, warned against current inflammatory statements, which could incite violence, considered, in this case, as a criminal offense.
“We are aware of many social media accounts claiming that thousands of supporters are mobilizing to backup the protests”, Cele added, “and we want to encourage our people not to believe everything they read on social media”.”We will act swiftly and decisively against any threat of disruption”, the Minister emphasized.
The national shutdown scheduled for Monday is organized by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party to demand President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign.
In the same sense, Minister of the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, also warned all those who will participate in the national shutdown, to ensure that there is no public violence and intimidation.
South Africa, she said, is a country governed by laws, therefore, no amount of lawlessness will be tolerated on Monday during the protest.
Commenting on the purpose of the EFF, Ntshavheni sent a clear message to the people: ‘regime change through unconstitutional means will not be tolerated in South Africa’.
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