MK Party’s Visvin Reddy Faces Riotous Assemblies Act Charges for ‘Anarchy’ Statements
- Mkhonto weSizwe's Visvin Reddy has been charged with inciting public violence and will appear before the Chatsworth Magistrates Court
- Reddy said the removal of former president Jacob Zuma from MK's candidate list would lead to anarchy and riots
- His spokesperson explained that Reddy's words were taken out of context as his speech predominately focused on President Cyril Ramaphosa's treatment of Zuma
Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered political stories and current affairs in radio for over 15 years. Do you have a political story you would like to share? Email zingisa.chirwa@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.
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MKP senior member Visvin Reddy's threats of 'Reddy's riots' and 'anarchy' landed him before the Chatsworth Magistrates Court.
MKP member Visvin Reddy charged
According to IOL, Reddy was charged with inciting public violence under the Riotous Assemblies Act for his comments outside the Durban High Court in March 2024.
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Reddy reportedly warned supporters that anarchy and riots would ensue if the ruling party's efforts to stop the MK from contesting the elections were successful.
The MK Party was in court defending the use of its name and logo and the ANC's calls for it to be deregistered.
MKP clarifies Reddy's statements
Reddy's spokesperson, Sabeena Chetty, told EWN that the statements were taken out of context as most of Reddy's speech was based on President Cyril Ramaphosa's treatment of former President Jacob Zuma.
“Mr Reddy was trying to say is that the public itself are well behind MK and uBaba Zuma right now and having to deliberately take MK off the ballot sheet was obviously going to create some sort of chaos."
Netizens have mixed views on Reddy's charges
South Africans are conflicted on the charges against Reddy, with some seeing the court action as a waste of taxpayers' money.
EFF our Home commented:
"Phalaphala criminals are still roaming the streets."
Buzzing asked:
"Civil War... who against who?? The handful of MK ZUMA ONES VS ANC, EFF VOTERS... OK on a serious note, #visvinreddy needs to be jailed. #MK South Africa doesn't need another violence inciter like Julius Malema."
Buciie said:
"A waste of taxpayers' money."
Mayarha Mtika questioned Zuma's support base:
"Why everything involves Zuma there's always violence involved? I mean, Zulu people are always ready to shed the blood where Zuma is involved!"
Sydney Black as he is added:
"That's not the case but it was a friendly warning."
NGO claims ownership of the MK Party logo
A non-profit organisation claimed that the MK Party's logo does not belong to the party or the ANC.
This was revealed a day before the Durban High Court was set to rule in the ANC v MKP battle.
The Legacy Project demanded that it be recognised as the rightful owner of the logo.
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Source: Briefly News
