ohannesburg – A member of the DA was allegedly assaulted by Black First Land First (BLF) supporters on Thursday at Gandhi Square, in Johannesburg, where the DA had gathered to canvass support for the #Data4All campaign.
The woman, who asked not to be named "for safety reasons", told News24 that she was whipped with a sjambok by one of two men in BLF T-shirts who cornered a group of DA members at Gandhi Square.
"Two people from the BLF approached us. They were carrying sjamboks. They started interrogating [another] DA activist and I was recording what was going on. When they saw me, they told me to stop but I didn't, and they threatened to take my phone," the DA activist said.
The woman alleged the men whipped her with the sjambok when she refused to stop recording the video.
"They whipped me with a sjambok around my waist and slapped me. The DA grouping came and stood between us and pulled me to safety," she said.
"They also threw all sorts of racial slurs at me," she said.
She was at the Jeppe police station in Maboneng to open a case against the two BLF members when News24 spoke to her.
DA Gauteng member of provincial legislature Makashule Gana said the party was deeply angered by the behaviour of the BLF members.
"There is no place in our society for the BLF's divisive and violent acts. The police must, therefore, take seriously the charges that will be laid against this collective, which can best be described as an ideologically devoid vigilante group," said Gana.
Zanele Lwana, national spokesperson for the BLF, told News24: "I'm still waiting for a full report from the comrades who were at Gandhi Square."
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...ivist-20171012
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