Political parties protest outside Sharpeville Human Rights Day event

Various political parties, including Build One SA (Bosa), Azapo and ActionSA, staged a protest outside George Thabe Cricket Grounds in Sharpeville, Vaal, after they were allegedly locked out of a government event to commemoration Human Rights Day.

Thursday's event is also a commemoration of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre where scores of people were killed while others were injured during a protest over pass laws.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is delivering the keynote address at the event under the theme “Three Decades of Respect for and Promotion of Human Rights.”

Speaking during the protest, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said: "Today is a very difficult day for all of us. Entering this place when we were locked out, I was actually quite ashamed to see a red carpet being put there.

"I don't know if you guys realised that. On a day like this when we are supposed to be sad, people are coming into this place with a red carpet [rolled out]. It's like it's the Oscars. We are in Hollywood."

Mashaba said he was saddened but also deeply touched by the cooperation he was seeing between other political parties.

Bosa leader Mmusi Maimane is seen standing behind Mashaba during his address.

"All of us we want the best for our country, particularly our poor people. We are going to fight, and that day is going to happen. One thing that lastly, I want South Africans to understand [is that] the spirit of Robert Sobukwe is not going to be forgotten.

"Whether anybody likes it or not, this day... we grew up from Sub A up to university, the 21st of March, all the time, we would know that it's Sharpeville massacre. No one is going to change that and one day, we will correct this history. The true history of this country is known..."

Maimane said: "As multiple parties we say that the blood spilt in Sharpeville will never be forgotten.

"The outgoing president [Ramaphosa] wants to expropriate it... We stand here today, saying on that day when the police took it upon the people to gun them down for human rights, they did so in Marikana. They did so in Langa.

"Today, they are watching as 73 South Africans are being killed every day. We are saying, there shall never be human rights until every life is safe," said Maimane.

He said until the issue of hunger is addressed, there will never be one SA.

Azapo leader Nelvis Qekema said: "Let the spirit of the 69 people of the PAC who were killed rise and ensure that there rises a government that will care about the people who were killed. We need a government that will make sure that we shall never forget the Africans.

"Let us rise. Let us go and vote and vote cruelty out."

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