Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
ANC leader comes to rescue of DA protester
Staves off mob from own party
BISHOP Adams might have saved a life yesterday when he used his body to shield a semi-conscious DA supporter from the kicks and blows of members of the ANC, his own party.
The man, dressed in a blue DA T-shirt and wearing a DA flag draped over his shoulders, was lying bleeding on the pavement of Albertina Sisulu Road when Adams, chairperson of Ward 84, stepped forward.
He would later say that he did so because he could see that the police and the MK veterans were unable to control the mob.
“I knew they would respond to the leadership,” he said.
Adams removed his jacket and used it to shield the man when officers attempted to bundle him into a police van as the mob continued to throw stones and bricks.
Moments earlier ANC supporters gathered outside Luthuli House had spotted the DA supporter as he crossed Pixley Seme Street.
ANC supporters gave chase, breaking through a cordon of MK veterans and police. They caught up with the man close to the Johannesburg City Hall and began beating him. An MK veteran kicked him in the head as he slumped against the wall. Police tried to intervene, but were too few in number.
“The problem is that by walking past Luthuli House it was like he was giving them the middle finger,” said Adams.
With Adams’s help, police were able to get the man into a police van and later took himto hospital. Police say he was in a serious condition.
The DA in Gauteng have condemned the attack.
This was not the only violent incident close to Luthuli House yesterday.
Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said four people had been injured when police opened fire with rubber bullets to stop ANC supporters from heading towards Mary Fitzgerald Square where the DA marchers had gathered.
But while there were violent incidents, most supporters who gathered did so peacefully. Some had travelled long distances, like one woman from Bloemfontein. “I am here to defend the ANC and president. If he takes a decision it needs to be defended as it is done as a collective through the ANC.”