The EFF said it would respond in due course after three suspects wearing the party’s regalia were arrested after the St Louis Botha statue situated at the main entrance of Parliament was vandalised.
THE EFF said it would respond in due course after three suspects wearing the party’s regalia were arrested after the St Louis Botha statue situated at the main entrance of Parliament was vandalised.
The statue of Boer War General was spray painted red and is now missing a heel at the bottom of his foot.
The suspects were in possession of a ladder, grinder and generator near the statue when police arrived.
Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, said the three suspects were arrested and charged for malicious damage to property, resisting arrest as well as the assault of police officers.
“Three people including two men aged 28 and 39 as well as a 32-year-old woman have been arrested after the Louis Botha statue situated at the main entrance of Parliament was vandalized.
“At about 2.42pm on Wednesday, members of the SAPS spotted the trio who were in possession of a ladder, grinder and generator near the statue.
“Members of the SAPS moved in swiftly and managed to confiscate the items. During a scuffle between members of the SAPS and the trio, one of the male suspects managed to spray paint the statue and vandalise the statue with a hammer,” Mathe said.
The EFF in the province said they will respond in due course.
UWC political analyst, Keith Gottschalk said Botha was the first Prime Minister of South Africa in 1910.
“He led the Transvaal delegation which rejected the class-qualified franchise of the Cape Colony, and demanded that the future South Africa should have a whites-only Parliament.
“He must also take responsibility for the 1913 Native Lands Act, which made it a crime to sell or rent land to Africans in nine-tenths of the country.
“Botha also led the conquest of Namibia, then called German South-West Africa, for the purpose of seizing more African land to be allocated to white settlers,“ said Gottschalk.
Ward 115 councillor, Ian McMahon said acts of vandalism and destruction of state property should be dealt with.
“There are processes and avenues on addressing naming and statue relevance in this country, and those processes must be followed, to define the current significance and heritage value of such. Individuals do not have the right, to take matters into their own hands – that’s called vigilantism, and we expect the full might of the law to take its course,” McMahon said.
Cape Times
