EFF vs SAPS at SONA: South Africans Share Their Opinions of the Clash

• A video showing South African Police Service officers denying MPs from the Economic Freedom Fighters into Cape Town's City Hall has gone viral
• The MPs are seen trying to enter the venue to attend President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address before being blocked by the officers
• South Africans took to social media to share their opinions on the matter, with some saying that the MPs were trying to use the incorrect entrance

CAPE TOWN - Last night (10 February), members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), including leader Julius Malema, clashed with officers from the South African Police Service (SAPS) while the EFF members were trying to enter Cape Town City Hall for the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

A video of the altercation was shared widely on social media. In the footage, the EFF members can be seen asking the police officers, some of which were holding riot shields, why they were stopping them from entering the SONA venue, especially considering that they were invited to the event as Members of Parliament (MPs).

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SONA2022: EFF arrives at the Cape Town City Hall dressed in red, clash with the police

According to TimesLIVE, the video does not clarify what caused the SAPS officers to attempt to block the EFF MPs from accessing the SONA venue. However, Malema later said that the police stopped the EFF members because they are racist and want to prevent the opposition party from fulfilling their duties, News24 reports.

South Africans react to the clash between SAPS and EFF MPs

The EFF posted screenshots from the viral video:

Briefly News rounded up what some South Africans had to say about the matter:

@Dikgoba shared:

@wongawalker said:

"I applaud the way SAPS handled this situation, if minimum force was used here the narrative would be different."

@KumarrenM asked:

"@Julius_S_Malema why are you using overalls for SONA but when you go to the Durban July you are using Italian suits?"

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@bellamoc believes:

"They are terrified of valid points of order and difficult questions."

@zumagrad shared:

"They went to the wrong entrance. Floyd didn't even attend the walkabout earlier today if he did, they would have gone to the right entrance."

@JeffDumisani remarked:

"Find a creative way to enter the parliament."

"No confidence": DA and EFF believe Ramaphosa has no trust in ANC ministers

In other SONA news, Briefly News reported that John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), and Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), say that they feel President Cyril Ramaphosa does not have faith in his ANC ministers.

These remarks follow an announcement made by Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), where he said that people outside the ANC would head two new task teams.

The one team is the "red tape team", which will be headed by Sipho Nkosi, the former CEO of Exxaro. The team's goal is to make registering and starting businesses easier.

Source: Briefly News