Marikana: North West cop sobs during cross examination

A top cop put his head on his arms and sobbed in the middle of his cross-examination at the Farlam commission of inquiry on Thursday, saying he was "heartbroken".

"I'm not angry, I'm just very heartbroken," Lieutenant Colonel Omphile Joseph Merafe told the commission, before Judge Ian Farlam granted an early adjournment.

Merafe, who is the North West public order policing (Pop) commander, was being cross-examined by advocate George Bizos on behalf of the legal Resources Centre (LRC).

Bizos questioned Merafe about a police meeting held in Potchefstroom, less than a month after the Marikana massacre. Bizos alluded to national police commissioner Riah Phiyega's contention that the police should be proud of what happened at Marikana.

"By the time this speech was made by the commissioner, there were allegations of improper conduct by the police," said Bizos. "On the concessions that you have made before the commission, you couldn't have been happy with the complete exoneration claimed by senior police officers that nothing wrong was done by the police on the 16 [of August 2012]. You couldn't have been happy with it given regard to your evidence?" he asked.

"I wasn't happy, as it is I am not happy, I haven't claimed to be happy at any stage," Merafe replied.

When asked by Bizos if he had expressed his unhappiness regarding the Marikana operations to anyone above his rank, Merafe responded, "What I'm saying I'm unhappy because there was a lot of loss of lives," before breaking down.

'A family'

Bizos had earlier referred to Phiyega's speech at this same meeting, where she referred to the police as "a family".

"Being member of a family doesn't mean that you are obliged to support the views of people that have said different things than you," Bizos asked, to which Merafe agreed.

Before the commission adjourned, Bizos, who was distraught by the Merafe's reaction, said: "I am sympathetic to the witness's position. I thank the witness for evidence thus far and do not want to ask him any further questions."

Throughout most of his questioning, Bizos was using a statement made by Eddie Hendrickx, a police expert who assisted in training the South African police force at the end of apartheid.

In his 67-page statement regarding the incidents at Marikana, Hendrickx alludes to what he views as several failures on the part of the police during the Marikana operations.

These included the inadequacy of the police briefing on August 16 2012, the police's failure to communicate with the strikers before deploying barbed wire, no sign of a written operational plan, the inadequacy of intelligence and the firing of tear gas and stun grenades without a clear instruction from the operation commander.

Hendrickx's statement also points to the unsatisfactory manner in which negotiations were conducted through the window of a nyala with a loud hailer, surrounded by many other armoured vehicles, saying that this would normally be regarded as unsettling to a crowd.

Merafe agreed that the police botched up in all these regards.

Merafe also concurred with Hendrickx's conclusion that after the events on August 13, where two police officers and three mine workers were killed, striking mine workers were intent on confrontation with the South African Police Service in a level that had previously not been experienced in labour or service delivery unrest.

Advocate Dali Mpofu will continue with the cross-examination of Merafe on Friday.

The Marikana commission is looking into events that took place on August 16 2012, when 34 striking mine workers were killed by police and over 70 were injured at Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana, near Rustenburg. It will also investigate the week leading up to it when 10 people were killed, including two policemen and two security guards.

Published on Mail & Guardian Online on 24 April 2014. 

Tekwane residents grow disillusioned by ANC promises

This story was the lead story on M&G Online on 20 April 2014. 

In January this year, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit was overflowing with ANC supporters as President Jacob Zuma launched the party's election manifesto.

"We are continuing to expand access to housing and basic services and building integrated human settlements,” he told the cheering crowd. He also committed to implementing the National Development Plan and focusing on job creation, rural development and land reform.

On Saturday – four months after the ANC’s manifesto celebrations – the local Democratic Alliance (DA) branch took to the streets of Tekwana South, Kanyamazane and Kabokweni near Nelspruit. These areas revealed a 30% support base for the DA in the 2009 elections and the party has begun door-to-door campaigning to increase this margin.

But in an area that ultimately remains dominated by the ANC, the real question is whether feelings on the ground have shifted and whether anything has changed in the past few months.

Give us our RDP title deeds

Themba Nxumalo shows the damp in his RDP house in Tekwane South, near Nelspruit.
Photo: Gabi Falanga

Tekwane South resident Themba Nxumalo points at the foundations of a neighbouring RDP house as he speaks. The cement foundation is jutting above the ground. "They just put it on top of the ground, they don’t put it underground. Then the water flows into the foundation."Nxumalo's biggest concern is the state of housing in the area. Residents are living in RDP houses but still do not have title deeds.

"There is in-fighting over RDP housing," he says. He claims RDP houses are given to rich people who then rent it out – making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

He points out the police's failure to do anything about the situation, labelling them as corrupt. "Laying a complaint or making an affidavit brings no results."

Inside his own RDP house, Nxumalo raises a net curtain. The paint is bubbling off the wall – the same is happening in the bathroom and kitchen. “The ANC want us to pay rates for water and electricity, but look at this,” he says.

The young man doesn’t have much time for the ANC, their supporters or the president. “We’ve been fighting for the [tarring of the] road and [putting up] streetlights,” Nxumalo says. “They put street lights up in phase one where the councillors live. But not here. There’s no safety at night, it’s always dark.”

In February and March the area was gripped by service delivery protests. "People have been burning tyres, fighting and shooting people."

Nxumalo is concerned about corruption within the ruling party. He has few compliments for Zuma. "I've never liked Jacob Zuma in my life. [Thabo] Mbeki was better, which is why they pushed him out easily. And then they stopped the Scorpions when they started investigating Zuma," he said, alluding to the rumours that the Scorpions were disbanded after they starting investigating Zuma for corruption in relation to the Arms Deal.

He refers to the Nkandla scandal to further illustrate his point. "How can international people invest in our country while it’s corrupt? Jacob Zuma used R200-million for himself. We don't need Zuma for a second term. He's full of shit."

Nxumalo voted for the ANC once – in the first democratic election in 1994. The next year he voted for the United Democratic Movement and since then he has been a DA supporter.

He believes that with the DA in power, job creation would increase. Although Nxumalo has a job working for a steel transporting company, he mentions that many of his neighbours are unemployed. "The DA knows how to manage everything," he says, referring to the DA's efficient administration several times and what this could mean in terms of affecting change in their area.

We want jobs, not promises

Mxolisi Dlaminkosi (left) and his neighbour, Goodman Lukele.
Photo: Gabi Falanga

Wearing a yellow ANC shirt with Zuma's face printed on the front, Mxolisi Dlaminkosi sits hunched over outside his RDP house in Tekwane South.Despite the hype around the ANC's Mbombela festivities, which he excitedly attended, he has become disillusioned with the ruling party, saying those in power are the only ones that benefit.

"At Mbombela the council made a lot of promises that they can't keep. There needs to be change and development and jobs.

“If they improve the infrastructure, like the building of roads, it will help create jobs because jobs are the main problem here," says Dlaminkosi, who is unemployed.

Although he's always been an ANC supporter, Dlaminkosi is considering voting for a different party in May. "The DA might give me a job," he says, although not entirely convincingly.

Recent scandals that have rocked the ANC and Zuma are not what has changed his feelings. "Nkandla didn't change anything. The only people that are wrong are the people from the department of [public] works. It doesn't change anything about Zuma or the ANC," he says, fiddling with his faded yellow shirt.

Hospital road needs attention

Dignity Mahlangu's house in Kanyamazane, near Nelspruit.
Photo: Gabi Falanga

Dignity Mahlangu is a nurse at Tonga Hospital.

"Since 2008 when I started, the road to the hospital has been very bad. When a patient is in labour, they sometimes have to deliver on the way. It worries me. And the cars get damaged."

There are frequent protests surrounding the state of this road. "Two months ago there was a toyi-toyi and they blocked the road," she explains. According to Mahlangu, the road usually gets patched up after protest action but within a few weeks it is in the same state again, especially if it rains heavily.

However, she says the road outside her Kanyamazane house was finally tarred about two months ago. She says in the run up to elections, there is always a rushed flurry of maintenance in the area.

Apart from this and the high rate of unemployment in the area, Mahlangu does not experience any other problems. "Many people are not working. Government should help them to get work."

Mahlangu has always been a devout ANC supporter but as a DA campaigner hands her a pamphlet on their campaign in Kanyamazane, she says she is open to being convinced – if someone can give her a good enough reason why DA rule would be a good thing.  As an afterthought she adds, "I don't know what good things can come from the DA, though. One you vote for them, they forget all the promises they’ve made." She says this is the same for all parties.

"The ANC brought us to where we are now from apartheid," Mahlangu points out, once again defending her party of choice. Most people in her neighbourhood are also ANC supporters she says.

Published on Mail & Guardian Online on 20 April 2014. 

Misa condemns ban on Lesotho journalists

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) has condemned a court interdict against three Lesotho journalists, which bans them from practising journalism for two and three years respectively, calling it "a bad precedent".

Abel Chapatarango, Shakeman Mugari and Caswell Tlali were sued by their former employer, Lesotho Times and Sunday Express, after discovering that the three had opened a publishing company of their own.

The order granted by the Lesotho high court prevents the three men from practising journalism within 200km of the Lesotho Times offices in Maseru. It also stops them from opening any newspaper within the same radius for a period of 12 months.

Basildon Peta, the chief executive and director of Africa Media Holdings, which owns the two papers, hotly denied that the case had any bearing on media freedom.

Peta insisted it concerned "civil and criminal violations of the laws of Lesotho, period". He asked: "Are these three implying that because they are journalists, then they are above the law and immune to the statutes that govern all of us?"

However, the national director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Lesotho, Tsebo Mats'asa, said he was praying that Lesotho's court of appeal reversed the ruling.

The case set a bad precedent, Mats’asa said – especially as media practitioners have limited employment opportunities in Lesotho. He could foresee similar cases where media proprietors "are going to be a stumbling block for establishment of media initiatives".

The ruling finds that the three journalists breached competition law and their fiduciary duties, as Chapatarango was a director of both companies and Mugari and Tlali held senior positions.

In his judgment, Judge Lebohang Molete cites the Companies Act of 2011, which "stipulates that a director who has an interest in a transaction or proposed transaction with a company shall cause the nature and full extent of his interest to be entered in the register of directors; and shall also disclose it to the board".

However, Mats'asa objected that "media proprietors who are already seriously underpaying their employees for fear of competition, are now creeping towards claims of unfair competition. They know that some employees will surely join new publications, especially if they make better offers."

Mats'asa, who is also a media practitioner and policy advocacy activist, argued that having more newspapers "ensures pluralism and diversity of the media. However, [this] case has been decided by the court of law. What is left is for the respondents to … appeal."

Mugari told the Mail & Guardian that an appeal is in the pipeline. "We believe the interdict violates our constitutional right to earn a living and practise our profession," he said. "The interdict is tantamount to jailing us. It's unprecedented in Lesotho. How does the court expect us to survive when we are not practising our profession?"

In his anwering affidavit, Chapatarango echoed Mugari's sentiments: "I am a professional journalist ... for more than 15 years and I know of no other trade ... If I am being deprived of seeking employment or establishing a business entity that is aligned to my profession it would mean that I am denied the basic means of earning a livelihood."

Mugari described the ruling as a blow to media freedom in Lesotho. "Any democratic country needs as many media platforms as possible," he said.

"Lesotho currently has three main newspapers, two of which are owned by Basildon. The interdict means that we will not start our newspaper until September this year.

"In the meantime we will not be working as professional journalists. Surely any judgment that stops journalists from working and a newspaper from publishing for any period undermines media freedom?"

However, Peta said it was "unacceptable" for a director to set up a competing business without declaring his interest. "We entrusted Chapatarango with virtually the day-to-day running of this business. He mobilised our other key employees to support his project. He got them to be disloyal to us."

In his affidavit, Chapatarango denied Peta's claims. "At no point did [I] or any of the other two respondents jointly collude to sabotage the business interests of the alleged or at all … [We] decided to join forces in order to venture into a commercial enterprise and this initiative was neither out of stealth nor chicanery."

He added that his business was merely in its "floating stages" and not yet operational.

Published on Mail & Guardian Online on 17 April 2014. 

Violent strikes and how to change them

"Violence works. It has worked in the past and it will work today." This is the rationale of workers during many strikes, according to Crispen Chinguno from the University of Witwatersrand's Society, Work and Development Institute.

In his presentation on Wednesday titled "Explaining violence in strikes", Chinguno unpacked the basis of worker violence. He was speaking at the third seminar held by the Marikana commission of inquiry to explore the underlying causes that led to the Marikana tragedy in August 2012.

"Violence is one of the means in which the workers come together for a common cause," he told the audience.

Violence is also a way of challenging an order of inequality and exploitation, and a response to structural violence in the labour processes, he said. Part of the strike repertoire, according to Chinguno, is the realisation of power. It is often in response to the fragmentation of the work force, which undermines collective solidarity.

More significant, however, is the way in which strike violence in represented. "Mineworkers are framed as primitive, illiterate, they use sangomas, they demand R12 500, which is unreasonable and outrageous – they are financially illiterate."

The significance of this, according to Chinguno, is that it shapes the responses of stakeholders. "These representations of mineworkers are used to justify low wages … it closes the dialogue with the workers, justifies the use of violence and is designed to delegitimise demands of workers."

Role of unions

Chinguno also pointed out the role of unions, employers and the state in strike violence.

"Strike violence is a means [for employers or the state] to assert, maintain, or restore control and order; or [strikers'] form of resistance to challenge or reject domination and control."

Professor Edward Webster, also from the Society, Work and Development Institute, elaborated on Chinguno's explanation for violence in strikes.

"Industrial relations involves the strategic use of power, especially in strike situations," he said. "In low trust situations, management attempts to divide the workforce, while unions will attempt to establish collective solidarity amongst its members."

In his presentation, Webster explored the possibility of an "alternative avenue for non-violent resolution of conflict".

"Workers need a sense of control within the strike," Webster said. He then proposed that two requirements be made mandatory for strike action.

"Union constitutions require a confidential ballot before a strike," he suggested. This, he said, would preempt strike action, provide an early warning to unions and would prompt negotiations. It would also ensure a democratic mandate for a strike, as there would not be a dispute about how the workers felt.

Police's role at strikes

Webster's second proposition is for companies to more involved in the picketing process. This process would include companies being notified and briefed in detail, with preparation by the employer being a key factor. Webster says unions should act to minimise injury and damage to properties and entrances and exits should not be blocked.

To better illustrate his point, Webster provided a quote by an unknown director of human resources in a parastatal: "My experience is that it is best to conclude picketing agreements as close to the site of the protest action as possible. This forces an engagement with the union and the management of the site over where picketing will take place, what is appropriate picketing, and how the situation will be managed."

The final presentation was by Graham Newham, head of the governance, crime and justice division at the Institute for Security Studies.

In his presentation, titled "How can SAPS [South African Police Service] prevent another Marikana", Newham pointed out key concerns around the 2012 massacre, which left dozens of mineworkers dead. This includes the belief by workers that the police were open to political and private pressure exerted on them.

Newham also highlighted that "the police did not appear to be primarily focussed on doing everything possible to minimise violence and loss of life on the day of the killings … The police should've done what they've always done: minimum use of force, negotiations and if you can't do this without the use of violence, retreat!"

Newham criticised the lack of investigation by the SAPS into the Marikana incident in order to identify criminality and misconduct on the police's part. "And there's a lack of any clear action plan to prevent such an incident reoccurring," he told the audience.

Preventing another Marikana

Newham's recommendations on what can be done to improve policing in South Africa and prevent another Marikana were mostly based on the National Development Plan (NDP), which was formally adopted by Cabinet in 2013.

According to the NDP, professionalisation of the police should be established through a code of conduct, where periodic checks are done to ensure understanding of the code. Additionally, a code of professional and ethical police practice should be developed, with members regularly trained and tested on this, as well as undergoing general competency assessments. Competency and excellence, in turn, should be recognised and rewarded.

The establishment of a national policing board would be able to sets standards for recruitment, selection, appointment and promotion, according to the NDP. Specialised training should also be provided for detectives, community policing and other special units.

In his presentation, Newham pointed to the failure in police leadership since 2000 – under the reigns of former commissioners Jackie Selebi and Bheki Cele, former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, and current national police commissioner Riah Phiyega – as one of the main reasons for the overall failure of the police.

In his recommendations, Newham again cited the NDP's solution. "The national commissioner and deputies should be appointed by the president on a competitive basis. A selection panel should select and interview candidates against objective criteria."

Also essential, according to Newham, was the immediate demilitarisation of the police.

All of this, he said, "would ensure that SAPS becomes depoliticised and is able to withstand political pressure within its field of operation. Over time, the SAPS would see an increase in public trust and respect from communities to the benefit of all."

Published on Mail & Guardian Online on 17 April 2014. 

Marikana cops 'not happy' with command

The police at Marikana were sufficiently trained, but were dissatisfied with the commander of the operation, the Farlam commission heard this week. Major General William Mpembe, the provincial deputy police commissioner, was that commander.

Mpembe took over from Lieutenant Colonel Omphile Joseph Merafe, North West's provincial public order police commander, on August 13 2012, the day that two police officers and three miners were killed during a violent clash between protesting miners and police.

"The members were not happy that General Mpembe took over control of the operation of the 13th," Merafe told the commission this week. "The dissatisfaction of the members was that if the operation had not been taken away from me, there would not have been the eventualities that there were."

Three days later, the Marikana massacre occurred, in which police mowed down 34 of the striking mineworkers.

But Merafe also told the commission that "the commanders at this operation were mostly vastly experienced. I worked with a number of them … and some of them led operations where I know about their experience."

Disputing claims

Merafe's revelations dispute the claims made by Lieutenant Colonel Salmon Vermaak in a letter to the provincial police commissioner in December 2012.

In his letter, Vermaak said: "Members allow illegal actions at certain areas and the next day, they take steps against, for example, illegal strikers or marchers. These actions confuse the public. They neglect their responsibility to protect and serve."

But Merafe said: "Our members who were involved in this operation, all of them are aware of the applicable legislation under which they operate … I don't know where Vermaak gets his words from."

Despite this, however, Merafe admitted to problems in the public order police units (POPs) which he said contributed to the tragedy.

In an unsigned statement, written by Merafe in November 2012, which was found on a police hard drive, Merafe raised the issues of limited resources, the large number of strikes and unrest experienced in the Rustenburg area in 2012, the use of force by police and the training of POP members. "According to me, Marikana did not just spring up from the blue. Some of the things that I mentioned there had a contribution to what eventually became Marikana," he revealed.

Mr X

Meanwhile, Judge Ian Farlam ruled on Tuesday that police witness Mr X would be allowed to testify in camera from a remote location, but said the families of the deceased mineworkers may be present in the auditorium during the testimony. Farlam also rejected the police's request that injured and arrested persons be excluded from the auditorium during Mr X's testimony.

Two weeks prior to the testimony, the police will be required to disclose his name and a photo of him to evidence leaders and parties.

Mr X, who is under witness protection, was allegedly part of the group of protesting Marikana miners who underwent a ritual that included two sangomas. According to a statement made by Mr X, this was to protect the miners from police bullets and to make them "fearless".

He is expected to testify about the organisation and planning of the strike at Marikana, the intimidation and killing of employees who were unwilling to take part in the strike, and a plan to attack the police on August 16 2012, the day 34 ­mineworkers were killed.

"Only the commissioners, evidence leaders, parties, legal representatives and accredited media shall be present in the auditorium during the testimony," Farlam ruled.

It is not yet known when Mr X will testify.

Published in the Mail & Guardian on 17 April 2014. 

Marikana's Mr X to testify in camera

Judge Ian Farlam ruled on Tuesday that police witness Mr X will be allowed to testify in camera and by video link but said families of the deceased mineworkers may be present in the auditorium during the testimony.

Two weeks prior to Mr X's testimony, the police will be required to disclose his name and a photo of him to the evidence leaders and parties.

Farlam ordered that no mention of Mr X's name or any other information which may reveal his identity be published or broadcast by the media.

According to Frikkie Pretorius, acting for the police, Mr X will testify about the events at Marikana relating to the organising and the planning of the strike; the intimidation and killing of employees who were unwilling to participate in the strike; the march to the National Union of Mineworkers' offices on August 11 2012; and the killing of two Lonmin security employees on August 12 2012.

Mr X is also expected to testify about the events of August 13, during which two members of the police were killed and one seriously injured; the killing of security guards on August 14 2012; participation in rituals in preparation for a confrontation with the police; and a plan to attack the police on August 16 2012, the date on which police shot and killed 34 miners.

Invisible to the police

Mr X was allegedly part of the group of protesting Marikana miners who underwent a ritual that included two sangomas, the burning of live sheep and the swallowing of their ashes on August 11 2012. According to a statement made by Mr X, this was to protect the miners from the police's bullets and "made us fearless, strong and invisible to the police".

In Mr X's sworn statement he details how the miners attacked and killed Lonmin security guards Hassan Fundi and Frans Mabelani.

Hassan's body parts were removed and taken together with Mabelani's ashes for further muti rituals, according to Mr X. He details how the sangomas cut Fundi's parts into smaller pieces, mixed them with blood and burnt them to ashes.

"We were instructed by the inyangas [traditional healers] to stand in a line and the ashes were put in our mouth using a spoon which we licked and swallowed," Mr X wrote in his affidavit.

"Only the commissioners, evidence leaders, the parties, the legal representatives and accredited media representatives shall be present in the auditorium during the testimony of Mr X," Farlam ruled.

"Members of the public may listen to the audio transmission of the testimony of Mr X in the overflow room."

The judge ruled that an evidence leader be present in the room of the remote location from which Mr X was to testify, at all times. Farlam also rejected the police's request that the families of the deceased mineworkers as well as injured and arrested persons be excluded from the auditorium during Mr X's testimony.

He said they had been permitted along with the police, Lonmin and the trade unions, together with others interested in matters covered by the commission's terms of reference, to participate fully in the proceedings.

'Special interest'

"Since this commission began its work, it has been accepted that the families of the deceased strikers have an interest in learning the circumstances in which their breadwinners died … To treat them now simply as members of the public and not as parties with a special interest in finding out what happened would be contrary to the spirit in which they have been treated from the beginning."

Farlam also pointed out that if Mr X tells the truth, it is likely that the injured and arrested persons already know who he is, because according to his statements, he played a significant role in some of the events in which the strikers were involved.

The judge's finding was based on the history of assassinations of potential witnesses and other mineworkers who were not willing to participate in the strike. The police's application in this regard stated: "If he [Mr X] has to travel to where the commission is sitting from the place where he is staying under witness protection and to return thereto when he has finished testifying there is a real risk that his whereabouts may be discovered and that he and/or members of his family may be harmed or even killed."

Earlier this year, advocate Dali Mpofu, who is representing the injured and arrested persons, strongly opposed the application. Mpofu originally said that he would have to reveal the identity of Mr X to his clients and to the family members of the deceased mineworkers unless there was proof that these people would endanger Mr X.

Mpofu was unavailable for comment after the ruling.

Dumisa Ntsebezam SC, for the families of slain miners, and Anthony Gotz for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) also opposed the police's application.

Pretorius, on behalf of the police, said that he would not give comment on the basis that he hadn’t "studied the detail of the ruling of the judge". He added however that they would not submit an application of review and would "proceed and accept the ruling of the judge".

It is not yet known when Mr X will testify but hearings continue on April 22.
 – Additional reporting by Sapa
Published on Mail & Guardian online on 15 April 2014. 

ANC campaigns in Gauteng while DA fights SABC

The ANC is happy with its weekend election campaigns that took place across Gauteng, despite reports that 66 ANC members in Hammanskraal defected to the National Freedom Party (NFP).

"We were well received everywhere in Gauteng, so we are quite happy," said ANC national spokesperson, Jackson Mthembu.

But Mthembu said he was not notified about the defection of any ANC members. "I'm not aware of it, but I wouldn't believe that ANC members would go to the NFP," he told the Mail & Guardian on Sunday.

With less than a month to go before elections, the ANC national executive committee and other national officials campaigned across Gauteng while, according to Mthembu, provincial leadership campaigned in the other provinces.

On Saturday, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe addressed hundreds of ANC supporters in Eldorado Park, where he lashed out at the Democratic Alliance (DA), accusing them of reversing economic growth in the Western Cape.

Mantashe's planned door-to-door campaign in Ivory Park, east of Johannesburg, on Sunday was cancelled.

ANC head of communications Keith Khoza said the weekend's campaigns were fruitful. "We were received warmly by those communities. The interaction was quite fruitful in that it solicits public views about our manifesto, and it's a good opportunity for us to explain the manifesto to those who don't understand it."

ANC to target train commuters

The ANC's campaigns will continue on Monday morning, with ANC members targeting train commuters.

Mantashe is expected to continue campaigning on a train with morning commuters from Oakmore to Park Station in Johannesburg.

Jessie Duarte, Mantashe's deputy, who spent Sunday campaigning in Evaton, will travel by train from Vereeniging to Orange Farm, while ANC treasurer general Zweli Mkhize is likely to travel from Springs to Park Station. ANC national chairperson, Baleka Mbete will catch the train from Naledi to Doornfontein.

NFP in Hammanskraal

The NFP did a door-to-door campaign in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, this weekend, where it is alleged that 66 ANC members defected to the party.

The NFP's Gauteng chairperson, Bheki Gumbi, was pleased with the outcomes of the campaign. "We are happy that all sectors of the community welcomed us. We end[ed] our rally in Mandela [Stadium], where we welcomed 66 members led by women's league members from the ANC," he said.

DA campaigns nationwide

The DA were equally busy this weekend, with numerous campaigns taking place across the country.

On Saturday, DA leader Helen Zille and national spokesperson, Mmusi Maimane led a march through Zola in Soweto in response to the SABC's pulling of a DA election advert. Approximately 3 500 people attended the event.

Meanwhile, the party protested with the Congress of the People on Sunday at the University of Limpopo over their exclusion from a land debate with the ruling party, Pan Africanist Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters and Freedom Front Plus, which was broadcast live on SABC.

At the same time, in Upington in the Northern Cape, DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko, along with premier candidate Andrew Louw, held a "We can win" rally.

"The rally went very well," DA media liaison told the M&G. "We are getting more supporters on a daily basis and we're positive that we can win the Northern Cape and Gauteng in the upcoming elections."

Zille, along with the provincial DA leader Athol Trollip and other parliamentary candidates, went door-to-door in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.

While in Alexandra, Gauteng, Maimane visited people living in hostels.  "The living conditions are bad and the people are fed up," said Clark. "They are looking for a new political home."
– Additional reporting by Sapa          

Published on Mail & Guardian Online on 14 April 2014.