DA lays criminal charge against KZN premier for 'illegal gathering' to salute health care workers

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard laid a criminal charge against KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala for what she believed was an illegal gathering at Clairwood, south of Durban.

According to her complaint to police, Zikalala had contravened the Disaster Management Act and the national lockdown regulations at Clairwood Hospital at 10:30am.

In a video shot outside the Montclair police station where she laid the charge, Kohler Barnard said nurses and other essentials workers were allegedly "pulled out of the hospital in order to listen to Zikalala speak."

"They claim that there was social distancing but that is irrelevant because in terms of Disaster Management Act, no gathering may take place unless it is a funeral. This was most certainly not a funeral."

"Premier Zikalala had no right to hold such an event, especially in light of the fact that the police are picking up civilians all over KwaZulu-Natal on the most ridiculous charges like going to buy a loaf of bread or picking up their mother from hospital," she said.

Zikalala's spokesman Lennox Mabaso could not be reached for comment.