EFF opens case against Ngizwe Mchunu over Inanda shooting claims

Shots were fired in Inanda, north of Durban, on Friday as supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters and followers of media personality Ngizwe Mchunu prepared for two events in the same area, and the police were called in to intervene.

The EFF’s KwaZulu-Natal leader, Mongezi Twala, said the party’s provincial manifesto launch will go ahead on Saturday regardless. He was speaking after he and other party members went to a police station in the area to open a case against Mchunu, his security detail and his supporters.

Twala said EFF volunteers were assaulted and that shots were fired at them. He said the party has footage of the confrontation.

“We are going to stage our programme tomorrow,” he said. “There’s no Ngizwe that is going to stop us from having any political programme. We are campaigning now.”

He also said Mchunu’s group had removed EFF posters in the area, and he raised concern about how the police handled the situation on the day.

Mchunu has denied the allegations and says the EFF group provoked his side. He has organised a musical event close to the venue where the EFF is due to hold its provincial manifesto launch on Saturday.

A feud that has already been to court

The tension in Inanda is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between EFF leader Julius Malema and Mchunu, a dispute that has previously ended up in the courts.

Twala has accused Mchunu of deliberately staging his event near the EFF’s rally in order to provoke the party.

What is not in dispute is that two gatherings were being prepared in the same area on the same day, that shots were fired, and that the police were called to restore order.

What the law says about the confrontation

Where shots are fired in a public place and people are assaulted, the conduct falls under the criminal law. Assault, public violence and the unlawful discharge of a firearm are offences, and the opening of a case is the first step in a process that belongs to the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority, not to any party or any crowd.

The police responded to the incident on Friday. Whether arrests follow, and what the investigation establishes, will be decided by the police and the courts on the evidence before them, including any footage that has been handed over.

What it means for the people of Inanda

Inanda residents now face a weekend in which two large gatherings are planned in the same neighbourhood. That means road closures, a heavy police presence, and the risk that the confrontation that flared on Friday repeats itself on Saturday.

The cost of that falls on the people who live and work in the area, and on the small businesses along the routes to both venues.

It also puts a spotlight on the police’s crowd management in the province. Twala has questioned how officers handled Friday’s events. The police have not yet responded publicly to that criticism.

The EFF’s provincial manifesto launch is scheduled for Saturday. Mchunu’s musical event is also scheduled for Saturday. Both are expected to draw crowds to the same part of Inanda.

Source: SABC News (website), EFF vows to proceed with KZN manifesto launch despite clashes