Black Lives Matter protest in Parliament
A SMALL group of protesters gathered at the gates of Parliament yesterday in solidarity with the protests in the US over the death of a black man at the hands of police.
They also highlighted the death locally of Collins Khosa in Alexandra, Joburg, at the hands of the SANDF during the lockdown.
Across the world, people are protesting against systemic racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, 46, a Minnesota man who was killed while in police custody last Monday. Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 (R338) note to pay for cigarettes.
A group of activists calling themselves Black Solidarity Action (BSA) protested outside Parliament.
An activist calling himself just Comrade Tongora said: “I’m in solidarity against the brutal attacks by the police against our black people. This is happening internationally now during this Covid-19 pandemic and to send the message across to our government and also internationally to politicians so that they can see what is happening with the police and the SANDF.”
On April 10, 40-year-old Khosa was beaten at his home by patrolling soldiers and died soon after. The army was deployed across the country to assist the police in ensuring that the lockdown regulations were adhered to by the public.
Tongora added: “The Black Solidarity Action is a campaign which is mobilising black people for black power. It doesn’t matter which political party you are under. We’re not focusing only on black people, we want white people to also form their own formation and fight against what is happening.”
Pan Africanist Congress member, Khululekile Banzi, said: “This is a valid start to what we hope is going to be a bigger movement. If you look at what is happening around the world, what’s happening in America, it is not a first – it’s always been happening. I won’t say it’s a good thing that that happened, but that put a global spotlight on what is happening here in South Africa with the likes of Collins Khosa and others who were murdered by the police and the defence forces.”
He added: “Of course they tried to cover up the killings. Even the numbers that we get, there’s much more than that. If you look at rape, if one rape is reported, at least seven others go unreported.”
National convener for BSA, calling himself Comrade Matigari said: “We want defiance. Our freedom can not be defined within the current socio-economic system.
“It was built on slavery, genocide, national oppression and colonialism. The colonial subjects must stand up and transform their struggles into revolutionary struggles.”