Cape Town – An unidentified man reportedly attempted to storm the stage where President Cyril Ramaphosa was seated at the Mmabatho Convention Centre in the North West, causing chaos on Saturday.
The ANC’s top seven officials and the National Working Committee (NWC) were in the North West province to try and address the grievances brought forward by local branches.
According to The Citizen, the man was quickly apprehended by the presidential protection unit and removed from the venue.
The North West provincial chairperson Nono Maloyi claimed the man was mentally challenged.
News24 reported that the drama started when the party leadership made efforts to increase attendance by removing chairs from the auditorium.
At the same time, some removed the chairs in the sizeable auditorium to prevent too many empty seats, then report said.
An identified man without a tag has managed to pass the security checkpoint and ran into the vanue in an attempt to go on stage where the president is seated. The presidential protection unit has, however, manhandled the man and took him out of the venue. pic.twitter.com/xCJFC9sRFL
— Lunga_mzangwe (@lunga_mzangwe) May 27, 2023
“After a three-hour delay Ramaphosa accompanied by NWC members Barbra Creecy and Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams arrived and the event got underway.
“But as soon as the attendees concluded singing the national anthem, a man, who as not accredited to be part of the meeting, ran into the civic center managing to evade the presidential protection unit that was stationed there,” said the report.
Despite shouts to catch him, the man made his way towards the stage. The presidential security detail swiftly apprehended him before he could reach the president. The man was quickly removed from the scene, with media denied access to him.
Some of the concerns raised during the event included poor service delivery due to financial difficulties in municipalities and allegations of ANC councillors collaborating with opposition parties in coalition governments instead of prioritising the ANC’s agenda.
Through the #ANCNWC’s provincial visits, we are assessing the state of ANC structures in the province, the relationship we have with our alliance partners, and we are assessing the state of government with the aim of strengthening ANC machinery and strengthening governance,… pic.twitter.com/3FuzLZBDDX
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 27, 2023
The ANC members planned to submit their grievances to President Ramaphosa, who would later address them.
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Picture: Twitter/@CyrilRamaphosa
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
