‘Go Zuma’ call is not personal – SACP

South African Communist Party second general secretary Solly Mapaila said the calls by the alliance for President Jacob Zuma to step down are not personal.

Mapaila was speaking after the memorial of slain struggle icon Chris Hani, who was gunned down 24 years ago in Dawn Park, Boksburg, while walking back home from a morning jog.

Earlier, Mapaila was booed and heckled by tripartite alliance members when he took to the stage, while Zuma received massive support.

“We know the people who are responsible for such conduct and they are not from this region; we know the people who planned it,” he said afterwards.

Mapaila added that the people who misbehaved during such events were factionalists. “This is not an occasion to differ, it’s an occasion to unify … Hani belonged to both parties and served them with distinction.

“This is not personal, I’m only expressing the views of my party that they have taken a collective decision; fortunately or unfortunately, I’m the one mandated to deal with the media on these kind of matters and, therefore, you’ll see me more often representing those views,” Mapaila said.

The memorial, which was held at Thomas Nkobi Memorial Park, was attended by Hani’s widow, Limpho, Zuma, newly appointed Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des van Rooyen and Congress of South African Trade Unions president S’dumo Dlamini.

In a statement, the SACP said it intended to achieve a revolutionary way forward from the prevailing destructive situation affecting the movement and the country.

“We will do our best to achieve a turnaround. We have made decisions, including that the president resigns.” – ANA