Bosa Leader Mmusi Maimane & ACDP March Over Crime in Nelson Mandela Bay on Freedom Day
- Freedom Day was not all about celebrations for some South Africans in the Eastern Cape
- BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane marched alongside residents who were fed up with the high levels of crime in the area
- In Komani, residents shared their frustration with the Enoch Mgijima Municipality for failing to deliver services
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GQEBERHA - While the rest of the country celebrated and reflected on Freedom Day, some areas, such as Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape, were marred with protests.
Source: Getty Images
Build One South Africa (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane, alongside members of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and residents of Bethelsdorp, took to the streets on Thursday, 27 April, instead of celebrating freedom.
Mmusi Maimane leads anti-crime protest in Nelson Mandela Bay
Maimane and the ACDP protested with residents over the high level of crime in Bethelsdorp. According to SABC News, more than 70 murder cases have been reported in the area since the year began.
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Community members felt they had no reason to celebrate Freedom Day if they could not freely live in their community without fear. Residents even added that the area had been infiltrated by gangsterism.
Speaking to the media house, Maimane stated that residents could not walk the streets because they wefeared being murdered. The BOSA leader added that criminals operate with impunity because police do not have enough resources.
"The only people who can celebrate Freedom Day are the criminals because they murder, and nothing happens," said Maimane.
The former DA leader added that Police Minister Bheki Cele should stop grandstanding and address the issues in the area that only has one police van for over 20 000 citizens.
Komani residents march over poor service delivery on Freedom Day
In another part of the Eastern Cape, residents of Komani marched on Freedom Day to demand better service delivery.
According to eNCA, the march comes after the Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance Parks Tau visited the failing Enoch Mgijima Municipality.
The Komani Protest Action stated that the deputy minister did not attend a meeting they had requested him to attend but sent his right-hand man instead.
The group stated that from their understanding, the deputy minister and his team were in Komani to find out what other issues plagued the municipality.
They added that they felt the deputy minister's visit was just delay tactics because a report about the municipality's problems had already been commissioned.
The KPA added that their mandate is to have the municipality dissolved because the leaders failed the residents by failing to deliver services.
Mzansi is over freedom day amid Eskom’s loadshedding, unemployment and more problems in SA
A Briefly News post about how people are feeling on Freedom Day revealed that many are frustrated. Netizens expressed their frustration with Eskom's loadshedding and how more problems have the country stuck.
People were brutally honest about their living experiences in South Africa's democracy. The post garnered over 1000 comments from frustrated citizens online.
The Facebook post by Briefly News tells a sad story about how the locals feel during Freedom Day. People complained that the day is like any other because there is no real freedom.
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Source: Briefly News
