Skimming Stones | Sula's Blog | Sula1968 A South African poet, potter and mother
The above video taken by Nigel Wiltshire ends with him being struck by the ANC member in red.
I have needed a few days to allow red hot emotions to subside before writing about the aborted ward committee elections which were meant to take place last Saturday. Instead of elections proceeding in the expected democratic manner, ANC members reduced the process to a farce (for the 2nd time this year).
In January citizens of Ward 32 in Boksburg gathered to vote for a ward committee to support DA councillor Marius de Vos. Despite Marius being a DA councillor the ward committee is meant to be an apolitical community structure supporting him in the various sectors. It should not matter which political party committee members are affiliated to, they are there to serve ALL residents. I was standing for election in the infrastructure sector.
The January election started over an hour late after waiting for voters to be bussed in. Councillor de Vos did not accept the election results as among other issues, it transpired that a large percentage of voters were not registered in Ward 32. The ANC had hijacked the democratic process, and this could not be endorsed. After pressure from councillor de Vos the election result was overturned and a new election date was set for 10 June 2017.
On Saturday morning candidates and voters waited quietly for proceedings to begin. At 10h15 we were told that we were again waiting for a bus to arrive. I felt a sinking sense of déjà vu. The meeting opened only for the presiding officer to be interrupted by Moses Tsolo of the ANC, who seemed determined to disrupt proceedings as he stormed down the centre isle shouting and creating a disturbance. ANC members took up song to the accompaniment of a vuvuzela, they sang songs including Dubula iBhunu (Shoot the Boer). Courts have ruled that this song is not to be sung by ANC as it inflames racial tension.
An elderly lady from an old age home was struck by an ANC member as was Nigel Wiltshire and active community member. The election was called off after descending into violence and chaos. According to councillor de Vos some ANC members were drinking alcohol from glass bottles at the back of the hall, aside from being drunk these glass bottles could have been used as weapons. How can our country grow and thrive when thugs will do anything to suppress decency and order?
Apart from assaulting elderly persons for no reason, a number of unregistered persons also stormed into the hall after the doors had supposedly been closed and these persons joined the ANC delegates in the mayhem.
The Metro Police officers on scene refused to arrest the perpetrators for the assaults and basically sttod by and did absoluteley nothing to restore order or to take action against any of those who were drinking openly at the back of the hall. Disgusting beyond belief
Thank you for sharing, disgusting behaviour. I still feel my blood boil when I think back on the morning
Wow Sula. It looks as though we will never ever be able to get sense out of these people. There is no retribution and one just feels like leaving the country when you see stuff like that. Who employs these people and who pays their salaries???? I wonder. Yet they can behave like that. Good on you for sharing.