During this morning’s council meeting in Cape Town, a contingent of councillors affiliated with the EFF disrupted Geordin Hill-Lewis’s mayoral address. What began as a silent protest quickly became loud and out of hand, prompting him to temporarily step away from the podium.
As reported by the Cape Argus, from the outset of the meeting, the protesting councillors had been silently displaying banners that conveyed messages related to the recent taxi strike. Despite warnings from Council Speaker Felicity Purchase to refrain from interrupting the proceedings, the councillors persisted with their banner display.
The banners contained messages, including statements such as ‘JP Smith has blood on his hands’ and ‘JP Smith is killing the black economy.’
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Purchase reminded the councillors of the rules, emphasising that disruptions and displaying posters were not allowed. She requested that they take their seats. However, their refusal to comply prompted Purchase to take more stringent action.
She named the entire EFF party for repeatedly defying the rules and asked them to leave the meeting. She also announced that the EFF would not be granted speaking time during the session.
Meanwhile, Mayor Hill-Lewis, standing at the podium, expressed his acceptance of silent protests while subtly noting that certain statements might need consideration. As he was speaking, EFF councillors dressed in their characteristic red overalls began to approach the stage and encircle the podium.
Around 10:15am, the Speaker reportedly decided to adjourn the meeting temporarily for the removal of the protesting councillors from the chamber. The assembly was slated to resume in 10 minutes. However, this brief recess extended to over an hour, and by 11:26am, order had not yet been restored to the meeting.
Before leaving the podium, Mayor Hill-Lewis exchanged a few words with EFF councillor Lungiswa Ntshuntshe, who was situated closest to him.
The incident disrupted the mayor’s announcement of the recipients of Civic Honours. These honours recognise exceptional individuals for their outstanding contributions to society.
Among this year’s recipients were notable figures such as lawyer, activist and former Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs; acclaimed playwright Athol Fugard; Archbishop of Cape Town and advocate for social, education and climate justice, Dr Thabo Makgoba; Afrikaans poet, painter and former political prisoner Breyten Breytenbach; former South African soccer star and current national team coach Desiree Ellis and humanitarian Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers.
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Picture: @EFFWesternCape_ / Twitter