SACP accuses ANC of disrupting meeting in Limpopo

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Limpopo province has accused its alliance partner the African National Congress (ANC) of disrupting a meeting at Turfloop near the provincial capital of Polokwane on Saturday.

It charged that the meeting – to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the death of struggle hero Joe Slovo as well as the Right to Learn campaign – was disrupted by “a bunch of thugs trucked in by the African National Congress (ANC) branch chairperson of Ward 4 near the University of Limpopo outside Polokwane”. 

“The mob‚ which arrived in a mini truck‚ started singing anti- SACP songs and became unruly‚ holding the meeting hostage. The mob of thugs then went on to collapse the marque under which the meeting was held and disconnected electric power switching off the sound system.

 “Some of the hooligans were visibly drunk. They shouted down invited speakers from the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) and the Young Communist League (YCLSA) and then collapsed the marque when the SACP Provincial Secretary was short of finishing his address. The South African Police Services were called to the scene to eject the hooligans from the meeting‚” the SACP said.

It added that the party would lay charges of public violence against the “concerned ANC branch chairperson and his troops”.

 “The incident that occurred at Turfloop is not an isolated occurrence. It is part of emerging anti-communist attacks happening throughout the country‚ especially in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The main objective of these anti-SACP attacks is to scuttle the unity of the ANC-SACP alliance and disrupt the National Democratic Revolution and the struggle for socialism‚” the SACP asserted.