Former Tshwane ANC leader Kgosi Maepa lays charges against DA
Former Tshwane ANC leader Kgosi Maepa lays charges against DA
A FORMER ANC leader in Tshwane, Kgosi Maepa, has taken it upon himself to hold the DA accountable for the burning of the South African flag as part of its elections campaign advert.
This week, the DA was heavily criticised for using its advert to burn the national symbol.
The party insisted that the burning of the flag was symbolic of the state in which the country found itself.
In the advert, the DA warns South Africans to not trust a coalition of corruption between the ANC, the EFF and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) led by former president Jacob Zuma.
Maepa took his fight with the DA to the Brooklyn police station where he laid formal crimen injuria and treason charges, adding that the DA shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the provincial and national elections.
“We know where our country has been. We therefore cannot allow the DA to take us there. This thing is causing divisions in our country and it should not be allowed. I will also write to the Human Rights Commission, the IEC, Icasa (Independent Communications Authority of SA) and BCCSA (Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA), and it is important to know that the institutions I have mentioned that they must demand from the DA to immediately cease to produce the advert,“ he said.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa also reacted negatively to the advert, saying the burning of the flag was “treasonous”.
“The burning of the national flag in a political advertisement is treasonous. Our country’s flag is a sacred symbol in our national life,” he stated. “It is despicable for a political party to destroy a symbol of our unity and existence as a nation,” Ramaphosa said.
Maepa also called on the IEC to sanction the DA for its controversial and ‘divisive’ ad.
“I feel strongly as an individual that the IEC must also act and take action against them because (the DA) has registered with them to be in the elections. They did not register to create anger among South Africans. My demand is that the DA must not participate in the elections,” he said.
While the DA has remained mum on the flag, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa also voiced his displeasure, saying he would be taking further steps to get the DA to remove the advert.
The minister said this week that he had already instructed the acting director-general, advisers and the legal unit of his department to advise him urgently on the recourse that the government can take when national symbols are desecrated.
“We are taking steps to ensure that there are consequences for such actions. We must protect our national symbols, which are a product of our hard-earned democracy,” he said.
Attempts to get comment from the party were unsuccessful at the time of going to print.
The Star