The office of embattled North West premier Supra Mahumapelo on Thursday called for an end to the mass disruptions in the province.

“We call on the protesters to refrain from the violent disruptions and approach government for discussions on any issues which they would like to discuss‚” said Mahumapelo’s spokesperson Brian Setswambung.

He said that the ongoing protests were nothing more than a bid to discredit Mahumapelo.

“[It is] an anti-Supra Mahumapelo political campaign which seeks to intimidate residents of Mahikeng‚” said Setswambung.

“The campaign is also characterised by criminality as private properties of some citizens are being looted‚” he added.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said Mahumapelo would have a difficult time recovering from the current uproar‚ which comes in the wake of news that his son received a bursary worth R1 million from Denel.

His office was also raided by the Hawks last month amid investigations linked to leaked documents that implicate Mahumapelo’s office in maladministration‚ fraud and corruption.

“He has already opted for a wrong defence by saying he is being purged for supporting Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma‚” Mathekga said.

According to Mathekga‚ there was a power change at provincial level since Zuma left office in February and those who were pro-Zuma were having difficulty adjusting.

Mathekga said “it’s every man for himself now Zuma is gone”.

“The more that people are going to face the law‚ specifically the former Zuma allies‚ they are going to try and reconvene and strengthen that Zuma faction‚” Mathekga said.

“And the more they face problems‚ the more they will drift away from the national leadership and this will cause a problem for the national leadership.”