PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has once again hit back at those threatening violence during elections saying the government will not tolerate their conduct.
He said the country had leaders who were refusing to be led. He said the public must forge unity and resist any attempts to sow divisions and cause destruction during the elections.
Some leaders of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have said there will be violence if the party was not on the ballot paper. Visvin Reddy, who leads the party in KwaZulu-Natal, and Bonginkosi Khanyile, who leads the youth structure of the party, have threatened violence.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has also warned those threatening violence. Ramaphosa said they will not allow people who want to cause divisions in the elections.
Ramaphosa was on Saturday addressing the 110th commemoration of King Dinuzulu in KwaZulu-Natal. He said the late King had waged struggles against colonialism from a young age. This led to his imprisonment. Today the country had leaders who did not want to be led.
“Today society is burdened by leaders who refuse to be led. They use their past and current leadership roles to sow division, fear and hate. They threaten violence and mayhem against the democratic state and its laws. Let me be clear, as I have been,. This we will not allow.
“We will follow in the footsteps of King Dinuzulu and forge ahead with unifying our nation. We must and we will resist and defeat the merchants of destruction that are in our midst, just as King Dinuzulu did,“ said Ramaphosa.
He said they will arrest anyone who is involved in violence. They are keeping a close eye on what was happening in the country and will not allow any violence. South Africa has no place for people who are fomenting violence. They want the laws of the land to be respected.